Contemplation: A Drabble Collection
by Hawkeye116
Summary: A collection of my drabbles. Current Drabble: One Hundred Years and Two Wars, there are really two wars that rage, the one between the Nations and the one inside your mind. [COMPLETE! 100 drabbles!]
1. Righteousness

A/N: After visiting theavatar100 livejournal community, I got inspired to do some drabble, coz drabble is fun and easy enough (for me) to write. Since I don't have a livejournal, this drabble won't be submitted to the community; I'm just doing it of my own free will to post on ffnet and not for a contest in theavatar100. I am in no way, shape, or form associated with theavatar100 or the creators of Avatar: The Last Airbender and do not do this for financial or personal profit, only to entertain other Avatards out there who love drabble. :)

* * *

Title: Righteousness  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 192  
Warning: Very mild and implied violence, Mild mental trauma  
Challenge: 22, Latin  
Pairings: Slight AxK hints

* * *

He looks at her and wonders. _Is it right?_

She calls to him softly, tells him to go before it is too late.

But his legs won't move, his muscles won't work. He can't leave her. _It isn't right._

Her brother speaks to him, tells him to take his leave. To go free the world.

_But it isn't right._

He can't leave either of them, for it wouldn't be right.

The scarred one grabs his shoulder, hissing in his ear to go, Avatar! To leave them and do what is right.

_But it isn't right._

She whispers for him to come closer to her. He does, looking at her through blurred eyes. Go, she tells him, do what you are destined to do. Go do what is right. Go save the world.

But I can't, he responds.

She looks at him, her face pained, her breathing shallow beneath her bloodied dress. I will be with you, she tells him, now go follow your destiny.

He nods, still unsure, and leaves with the scarred one, to go save the world and do what is right.

Because destiny will always take him to the end.

* * *

**Ad fundum—**_to the end_


	2. Fortunes

A/N: Woot, a new drabble in the eyes of Aunt Wu concerning Meng, coz she's awesome. Both of 'em. Yay.

* * *

Title: Fortunes  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 103  
Warning: Mistrust of Fortunetelling, Aunt-Wu-protectiveness  
Challenge: N/A  
Pairings: Maybe slight AxM

* * *

Such a young and charming young girl, my assistant. She is only about ten years old. What concerns me is how she is so worried about her future, about love, about life. 

She has been exposed to too much, I think. Perhaps that is my fault?

I have taught her to depend upon undefined things, things that she doesn't understand. Perhaps that cynical boy that passed through our town was right—perhaps fortunes are not for all things.

But my assistant still has a full life ahead of her. And in good time, she will learn the ways of the world for herself.


	3. Flaming Intensity

A/N: A drabble in the pov of Ozai, coz he's a weird character.

Title: Flaming Intensity  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 110  
Warnings: slight Ozai insanity  
Challenge: 22, Latin Phrase  
Pairings: None

* * *

Fire. It provides warmth, light, life. It is a comfort and a virtue to my nation. To bend it is to be all-powerful. To control it is to be immortal. 

And so I sink into it, my element: fire. I let it consume me. It becomes me.

At some times, it is me.

But for now, when I am ruling all those who can barely produce it, let alone control it, I am just a ruler of a nation.

The strongest nation of the world.

But what fools, to think me just Fire Lord. Fools, to be in this war against me.

They shouldn't try to take on the sun.

* * *

**Adversus solem ne loquitor** - _Don't speak against the sun_


	4. Dance of the Warrior

A/N: Yay, thanks to everyone who reviewed. Here's a new one: Suki drabble!

Title: Dance of the Warrior  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 167  
Warnings: None  
Challenge: N/A  
Pairings: None

* * *

To engage in combat is like a dance, when footwork is vital and much energy is exerted and the movements are graceful and elegant. An extension of my limb serves as a weapon; precision originates from instinct. Power comes from within, just as elegance and grace do. Power can be learned, to an extent; grace and elegance can be learned, as well, but are limited by misunderstanding. One must know the work without ever attempting it to be a real warrior, a dancer of the battlefield.

One must let oneself loose and let one's body do the work. Have no feeling but that of which comes naturally, honor and pride of doing one's country a good deed. The dance of combat is a free and wild skill that takes on a variety of different intensities and tempos.

In essence, combat is freedom. Combat comes of free will; combat comes from honor and service. Combat is necessary, at times.

Combat is a dance that only true warriors know.


	5. Callings

A/N: Thanks once again for all the positive reviews. This drabble shows a different pairing than usual among my writings. It is a Kataang piece as well as an Aangst piece and a tragedy. And it also features nameless Avatars of the past. So. Have fun with it.

Title: Callings  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 495 (A long one!)  
Warnings: Severe angst, foreshadowing of a terrible tragedy  
Challenge: N/A  
Pairings: KxA, though it can be interpreted to be other pairings

* * *

He hears them calling to him. They are always calling. He hears their voices, how they so insistently tell him to do this or that! There are thousands of voices, all with different personalities and values and skills and lives. But they are all linked, as they are linked to him, all linked because Fate has chosen them to be the greatest of the great, the wisest of the wise, the most powerful of the powerful. All the voices linked to him, to form a great and unpredicted lineage of thousands, and all of the same person. No, the same spirit. All the voices and he share the same spirit.

So many times has he lived; so many times has he mastered the four elements to keep balance, that he has lost count.

And yet he has not done this before, never lived this way before. He was just himself before he became the Great Protector. He was just an Airbender before earth, water, and fire left their mark on him. He was just a person lost in the great circle of time, until Fate decided upon him as the next one to inherit the position. The previous Protector had seen who the next Protector would be as he died in his sleep, may the gods bless his spirit.

Yes. The gods and the people are always blessing the spirit. But never the person. Always the spirit. It is as if the spirit is the human, rather than the mortal whom it chooses to occupy. But no, the spirit is divine, and the human is mortal; it cannot be any other way, lest the world turn awry.

But all that is beside the point, because he hears the voices calling to him and advising him anyway, even though the voices are linked to him by their spirit. They are always calling him, admonishing him for his wild emotions, telling him to stay away from her. He is the Great Protector, and the world needs him more than she does. She must not interfere. He must leave her in order for the world to be at peace.

He ignores the voices, argues against them, claims that he is his own person, that he is not just the spirit but the human as well; that he is not so much Great Protector as a young lover, that he is not so much wise as youthful and curious, that he is not so powerful yet as the Lord of Fire. That the voices are wrong, and that he is right, and that love is more powerful yet than even he, or the voices, or the Lord of Fire. Love is more powerful and therefore he will stay with her.

And still the voices call to him, advise him. They are always calling, and will evermore be disregarded until the day of the End when the world shall crash round his shoulders and all shall be naught but ash.


	6. Darkness

A/N: Happy Halloween! This was written in honor of the holiday. It's very dark and vague and filled to the brim with symbolism. See if you can figure out what the darkness is and who the two unnamed characters are. I can't wait to see what you all think.

Title: Darkness  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 518  
Warnings: Very dark, severe angst, repression, lots of symbolism  
Challenge: N/A  
Pairings: Open to interpretation

* * *

It was all around them. It surrounded them, closing off all sides. It was darker than the lightest, most intense Fire, and eviler than even the Avatar. It swelled around them, pulsating loudly in anger and bearing down upon them, emphasizing its thoughts. They could not escape it. It was an unavoidable black darkness, so black that no light might ever shine when it encompassed the world, so dark that it blotted out any shred of hope a person had left, so unfathomable that even they didn't know what to make of it or what to do. There was simply no hope or way out. They would have to face it head-on, or die. And they would most likely die. Because the darkness was stronger than the most firm earth and more immense than the vastest ocean. It was so great that it would kill them. 

The darkness pressed down harder around them, as they gasped for breath. They fought it with attempts at tranquility and then ferocity, but neither worked. Nothing could vanquish the darkness. It was too great, the light too small. No hope to be found.

And still they struggled, clinging onto some fleeting image of a better life where the darkness wasn't there and light abounded, where darkness did not interfere with the happiness of a person and a person's wildest dreams were accomplishable. And still they dreamed of the place. And still it did not come to them, for the darkness was almighty and was almost as powerful as fate itself.

They clung to each other weakly, imagining. They both closed their eyes and imagined the light. The darkness pressured them still, and they felt their breath becoming shallow and feverish; there was not enough air to breathe, not enough air to last. The darkness was taking away their air, bending the air and breaking the air and sending fiery spurts of heat to incinerate them and chilling ice to freeze them and great boulders to bury them under where they would lie for a thousand, thousand years, tainted.

The darkness was unforgiving, menacing, aggressive, angered, and powerful. It had a spirit of such ferocity and strength that it was the strongest force in the world. And they did not cower from it, for they had nowhere to run. But they faced it anyway, braved it, knowing it was more difficult to confront the darkness than their enemies any day. The darkness was not the enemy of either of them alone; but it was the enemy of the two of them as a whole, and it repressed them and disowned them and despised them and became their enemy.

There was no hope left for them. Not enough air to breathe. No faith to save them, no spirit to bide them, no strength left to fight. They could only cling to each other as the darkness closed in, suffocating them and taking away the last light, destroying the peace that could have transpired in the world, forming more enemies amongst the darkness, slaughtering the innocent, and killing away the last hopes of the deceased.


	7. A Single Second

A/N: Yay. Finally, some Zutara-y-ness for you all. This drabble was based off eppie 15, just to let you know.

On a much more important note, this was done for a birthday gift for RedNovember. All hail her. :worships:

BTW, I'm not going to reveal the two characters surrounded by the Darkness in the last chapter or what the Darkness is. It's open for interpretation and I like it that way.

Title: A Single Second  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 175  
Warnings: Slight fluffy-ness  
Challenge: Done for RedNovember's b-day.  
Pairings: ZxK

* * *

Sitting behind his uncle on the great blind shirshu, Zuko looks over at the two captives hanging limply over the back of the saddle. Jun yells for the shirshu to go faster with a crack of her whip; the scenery speeds by and Zuko reflexively reaches to hold onto one of the captives' backs so she won't fall off. He glances down at his hand, confused; looks over at the Water Tribe boy lying next to the girl; notices the boy hasn't fallen off—and then yet why does he keep his firm grip on the girl? The one that was "too pretty" for him?

He frowns slightly at the recollection of the taunts of Jun directed at him. He hadn't exactly denied that the girl was his "girlfriend" or that she was "too pretty for him." Rather, he just changed the subject; tried to stay focused—ignore what was in front of him.

Still frowning, he releases his grasp on the girl. Why should she matter to him? He had only cared for a second.


	8. Divine Intervention

A/N: This is a rewrite of Katara finding her new power in episode 16, the Deserters. Have fun and don't be intimidated by the Chinese religious references.

Title: Divine Intervention  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 726  
Challenge: 25--Rewriting the Past  
Warnings: Religious references, Harm to Katara (a burn)  
Pairings: None, I think...

* * *

Looking down from the heavens, the man sighed. 

"Fei Lian," he said, glancing at the withered and war-torn earth below, "what has become of our world?"

Fei Lian, a great dragon with spanning wings and a stag's head and a snake's tail, turned toward the man who had addressed him.

"You care for the world, Tam Kung?" asked the dragon, a scornful look in his eye.

Tam Kung, the man, bowed his head. "You have changed much since your People of Air were killed."

Fei Lian snorted and flapped a wing in indignation. "Why should it matter to you?" he snapped at Tam Kung, "Your People of Water are weak and will soon die out as well."

Tam Kung shook his head. "Fei Lian, Dragon of the Wind, you were once so peaceful as were your People of Air."

"Ha," Fei Lian laughed, "the only one of my People of Air left is a foolish and weak-hearted boy."

"He is the Avatar, Fei Lian. He is the Avatar and he has returned to the rest of the world."

"Yes. He has returned to my People of Earth and your People of Water, Tam Kung," said an elderly man with a long white beard, a red robe, and a wooden staff.

"Tu Di Gong," acknowledged Tam Kung. Tu Di Gong bowed to Tam Kung and Tam Kung did the same for the God of Land.

Tu Di Gong turned to Fei Lian, regarding the dragon benevolently. "Fei Lian, you look well."

Again, Fei Lian snorted. "Yes, just wonderfully well, Tu Di Gong."

Tu Di Gong raised a white eyebrow. "Why the sarcasm, Fei Lian?"

Tam Kung gritted his teeth. "Don't ask," he mouthed to Tu Di Gong.

Fei Lian scrapped through the cloud he was sitting on, puncturing a hole through it. "My People of Air have long been gone, Tu Di Gong. But you wouldn't understand, seeing as your People of Earth manage to grow and hold strong."

"Oh Fei Lian," said Tu Di Gong, "there is no need to be so macabre. You still have your Avatar. Have hope, friend."

Fei Lian turned his long neck and cast his look upon the earth. "If only Zhu Rong and his daughter Zula of the People of Fire were not so aggressive."

Tam Kung nodded his head in agreement. "Those two have diminished out Peoples and they must be stopped."

Tam Kung and Fei Lian turned to Tu Di Gong.

"Tu Di Gong," said Tam Kung, "is there anything at all that we can do to stop Zhu Rong and his mortal daughter on earth?"

Tu Di Gong stroked his beard. "The Avatar is the key to saving this world, else Nüwa create a new people." Tu Di Gong paused for a moment. "But I am unsure how to help your Avatar, Fei Lian."

"Oh," commented a morose Fei Lian.

"Wait," ordered Tam Kung, "there may be a way yet to save the Avatar from harm."

"What!" exclaimed Fei Lian.

"Continue," Tu Di Gong stated patiently.

"There are two of my People of Water that travel with the Avatar. One, the girl, is a Bender of Water. I can give some of my powers to her so that she is capable of saving your Avatar, Fei Lian," explained Tam Kung.

"And?" inquired Fei Lian.

Tam Kung smiled. "I could cure people when I was a child. It is a magical healing technique that I shall gift her, since she cares for the Avatar so much."

"You will do that?" asked Fei Lian, wide-eyed.

"I will."

--Later--

Zhu Rong encouraged the fire so that it burst out of control. Smirking evilly, he congratulated himself on a job well done as the Avatar burned the Bender of Water. She ran off, weeping in pain, and her brother, another one of the People of Water, threw the Avatar to the ground.

"You burned my sister!" he bellowed at the young Bender of Air.

Zhu Rong turned and glided off into the sky. His work here was done.

--Elsewhere--

Katara rocked back and forth ever so slightly, cradling her burned hands in her arms. She glanced at the river in front of her, and brought her hands slowly towards it. The Waterbender reached into the water and was stunned when her hands began to glow.

Far above, someone had blessed her.

* * *

A/N: Um. Yeah. Strange. Don't hate me 'cause I'm original. :P 

So, a long-winded explanation of all the deities and Chinese religious references in this piece, justanotheravatarfan-style:

Fei Lian is the Chinese god of the wind. He is a powerful, trouble-instilling dragon with the head of a stag and the tail of a snake. Fei Lian carries wind around in a goatskin bag and can transform into a human known as Feng Bo.

Tam Kung is a god of the sea from Chinese folklore. He could cure people as a young child, and became immortal when he was twenty years old. Fishermen and others of Asia still worship him in present times.

Tu Di Gong is an elderly man who is god of land. He has a white beard and a red robe and a gold or black hat. He carries a staff and an ingot. Tu Di Gong is best described as a bureaucrat; he isn't a very important god, though he helps a lot with agriculture.

Zhu Rong is the Chinese god of fire. He had a mortal daughter of the same name during the three-kingdoms period who was a great woman warrior and became very famous. I have changed his daughter's name to Zula for my own purposes, as you can see.

Nüwa is a Chinese goddess who created life on earth as well as the rainbow.

So. That's about it. I got all this information off of Wikipedia.


	9. Goodbye

Title: Goodbye  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 68  
Warnings: None  
Challenge: N/A  
Pairings: None

* * *

"Nephew."

"Yes?"

"The crew wanted to say goodbye before we reach the capitol."

Zuko sighed in exasperation. "Uncle?"

"Nephew?"

"Uncle, when the comet comes tomorrow, will they be fighting for my father?"

A moment of silence.

And then, "They are loyal to their nation."

Zuko turned his head so that his uncle couldn't see his face.

"Uncle?"

"Yes, Prince Zuko?"

"Do you still have your old Sungi horn?"


	10. Memories

A/N: This is based off one of Katara's fortunes from episode 14.

Title: Memories  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 228  
Warnings: Katara angst  
Challenge: None  
Pairings: None, most likely

* * *

There were so many memories. The ones especially of her youth, when she'd found him, the savior of the world. The travels, the trials, the tribulations. The places they'd been—all over the world. The people they'd met—people of all nations. 

There were so many. Each passed through her mind as if it were but a feeble wisp of cloud blown away by the wind. And yet still, the memories stayed with her, for she had nothing else left.

Husband dead, son dead, daughter-in-law dead from childbirth. Brother missing, as he had been for many years. The Avatar, always away and always busy, always unwilling to speak with her. But the Avatar was not the Airbender Avatar she'd known so well—no, that Avatar had died in a battle at the end of the old war. The current Avatar was a male Waterbender of the Northern Tribe, and he paid her no heed.

All that lived were her two young grandchildren, and they were orphans. There was nothing left for her in this world.

The dream ended, color draining from the constant stream of memories. The dream had been a strange one, a hurting one. She was glad it was over.

And so, at an old age and many years after the great war, the honored Lady Katara's time came to move on to the next life.


	11. Pressure

A/N: Kind of a random drabble set after the end of the war.

Title: Pressure  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 130  
Warnings: Kinda anti-Kataang  
Challenge: N/A  
Pairings: one-sided AangxKatara, implied Some-guy-from-the-Fire-NationxKatara

* * *

Pressure, pressure. So much pressure. Pressure from my brother, pressure from my Tribe, pressure from the world—all this pressure for me to love the Avatar.

It's too much. I want to get away from it all.

These people care nothing except that the Avatar has a love interest. They are nothing but idle gossipers.

I want to be free to love. My father will let me. He will understand. He always said he wouldn't make me marry anyone I didn't wish to.

I can trust him to understand, can't I?

Running away is my only option. Father will understand.

But to the Fire Nation? Running away to the Fire Nation? You'll break Aang's heart.

No, my father will understand. Aang will understand.

But why?

Because I trust them to.


	12. Tui

A/N: Just a little plot bunny that sparked after a bit of discussion with my friends about the finale.

Title: Tui  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 220  
Warning: Spoilers for the Finale and lotsa Sokka/Yue fluffiness  
Challenge: N/A  
Pairings: Sokka/Yue

* * *

He could feel her smooth skin against his touch, hear her voice that drew him in. He remembered how she walked him, loved his company. How much he loved her. 

And now she was gone, forever lost, forever circling around in a great dark pond, giving the moon life and the world hope. She had made the greatest sacrifice anyone could make, and he had selfishly tried to hold her back, stop her.

But she refused. She did what she had to.

She touched a fish and she _died_.

Granted, it wasn't just any fish—it was the spirit of the moon.

But, still, it was just a fish. Just a stupid, lifeless fish that had killed her.

He clutched his boomerang tightly, glancing around, seeing his sister and his friend, the Avatar, asleep. He sighed, leaning against the edge of the flying bison's saddle, staring at the ocean. His grip clenched around the edge of the saddle, and he closed his eyes.

He shook his head in sorrow, lamenting her passing. She had meant so much to him.

But it was in the past now. He should stop thinking about it. He should open his eyes to see the world as it was currently, to step back into reality again.

He opened his eyes and saw the glowing moon.


	13. Silence

A/N: This is my pathetic attempt at a non-AU Zhao/Zula drabble. Which is more a one-shot then a drabble. Whatever.

This drabble is kind of strange. It's open to interpretation; take it however you will.

I do not own Avatar. However, I do own the messenger, and I am already loving his character.

Uhhh… Enjoy?

Title: Silence  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 552  
Warnings: Brief mention of slave torture, Strangeness, Spoiler for episode 19/20  
Challenge: I wanted to write a good Zhao/Zula!fic.  
Pairings: The slightest hints of Zhao/Zula

* * *

"Oh, no, no, no!" moaned the messenger as the guard pushed him to the entrance of the room. "Oh, no, please, have mercy!" shouted the messenger again.

The guard shoved the messenger against the door. "Be silent, slave. Feel honored that you are able to stand in the Princess's presence."

"Oh, no, please no," moaned the messenger, his head hurting from the guard's manhandling.

"Quiet," ordered the guard, knocking on the door. "Princess, there is a messenger here for you."

"Let him in!" shouted an uncaring voice. The voice the messenger had heard in his nightmares.

It was the voice of Princess Zula. Slaves who delivered her bad news or mistakenly disrespected her received hundreds upon thousand of lashings.

And what he had to tell her was very bad news.

He squeaked in fright as the guard opened the door and shoved him in the room. The door slammed behind him.

The messenger was silent. He'd heard stories of the prodigious Firebender's wrath. Princess Zula always yelled at disloyal or disrespectful slaves, torturing them with fire. He was the carrier of bad news, and he knew this would happen to him.

He swallowed, and spoke.

"Princess Zula," the messenger said.

The Princess stopped her meditation for a moment, staring at the messenger with severity.

"What?" she spat.

The messenger cowered under her gaze.

"Speak!" she commanded.

Finally, the messenger spoke. "One of Admiral Zhao's underlings—"

"The most esteemed, respected, and skilled Admiral Zhao," the Princess added.

The messenger cringed in displeasure at himself. "Er, the most esteemed, skilled Admiral Zhao—"

"And respected. He is very respected."

The messenger looked fearfully at the Princess, knowing he'd be getting forty lashes after this.

"—and respected—Admiral Zhao. Yes. One of his underlings wished for me—"

"More like he forced you to, slave—"

"Er," continued the messenger. The Princess scared him almost as much as Admiral Zhao had, once and long ago. "The underling ordered me to tell you—"

"Her majesty, Princess of the Fire Nation—"

The messenger nodded his head vigorously. "Yes, the most wonderful, highest woman in the land, you, your majesty—"

He stopped, looking at the Princess. She was satisfied.

He noticed the Princess's eyes staring into his own, and jumped when she spoke. "Eyes to the ground, slave, when you come into my presence."

"Yes, your majesty," he apologized, immediately dropping his eyes to the ground.

"Continue," the Princess ordered.

"Well, the underling ordered my to notify your majesty that Admiral Zhao is not only most esteemed, respected, and skilled, but deceased as well." The messenger threw his arms over his face, waiting the Princess's wrath.

"He's—what?" asked the Princess, dazed.

The messenger looked up at the Princess again, and brought his arms down from his face. He expected to be punished for looking upon her and showing fear, but the Princess was looking away from him.

"Your majesty?" he asked quietly.

She said nothing and remained silent. But the silence was enough.

Slowly, he backed out of the room and shut the door. The guards would ask why he hadn't been punished, why they hadn't heard his screams of pain and the shouts of fury from the Princess.

But the silence was enough. It was the loudest silence he ever heard.


	14. My Ocean, My Moon

Title: My Ocean, My Moon  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 379  
Warnings: Spoilers for the finale  
Challenge: N/A  
Pairings: Tui/La (and a lot of symbolism that might imply other pairings… :cough:)

* * *

La stared at his good friend and counterpart, Tui.

_Ready, my Moon Spirit, my friend?_ La asked.

_Yes_, Tui responded.

Together, the two held their hands and closed their eyes. Light glowed from the center of their embrace, until it encompassed them both and sent them to a different world.

Tui was the first to open her eyes. _La, my Ocean?_ she called.

All was black around her; Tui could not see anything. And yet—there, a little white spot in the water—

_I am here, my Moon_, murmured the dark voice of La.

_My Ocean, my vast Ocean_, called Tui, _I was afraid I lost you._

_Be afraid not, my Moon, my pure Moon. I am here. I am safe. I am black as night; that is why you cannot see me_, responded La.

Tui twirled around. _All I can see is a white something in the Waters, like a moon._

_It is you, as you are a part of me—and I am a part of you, my Moon. Look upon yourself and see the black abyss the Ocean that stains your pureness_, advised La.

Tui swam in a circle, seeing the whiteness of her body, her fins, her gills. But she never saw the black circle on her head.

_My Ocean, I cannot see you as a part of me_, Tui said, worried.

La looked thoughtfully at the luminescent Tui through the dark Waters.

_I can not see you, my Moon, as a part of me either, but I know you are there. We can see each other's circle—but we can not see our own. It is something that is meant to be the way it is, Tui, my Moon, my Love_.

Tui smiled happily, swimming to catch La. La darted away from her; he was afraid of what would happen to her if she touched the darkness.

And so they swam in circles for all eternity, Tui chasing after La, La retreating from Tui, and neither seeing the other in their own souls, but seeing themselves in the other's soul, and to this day, they call:

_My Ocean, my vast Ocean, come to me, for I miss you!_

_My Moon, my pure Moon, come not to me, for I am tainted; I am darkness._


	15. Sparring

A/N: Hiya. This is a Zutara-ish thing, though it's kinda weird. Meh. Just read it.

Title: Sparring  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 299  
Warnings: Slight spoiler for season finale, sparring  
Challenge: N/A  
Pairings: Zuko/Katara (OTP-ness! …Well, besides Appa/Momo…)

* * *

Whenever they found each other, they fought. The fact that they fought and would always fight was assumed, taken for granted. And so they fought. Sometimes one would overcome the other. But mostly, they fought until both retreated to capture or save the Avatar.

It was strange to think that these two people that had been fighting over the Avatar for months should find a sort of playful bond; and it was strange that they challenged each other lightheartedly, as if they were sparring rather than fighting their enemy. And it was strange that one day, when the Avatar ran past, neither retreated to save him.

The Avatar was becoming farther and farther away from them, out of their grasp and into the never-ending blue expanse known as the sky. And so the two of them stood in their makeshift sparring ring, staring as the Avatar retreated, knowing that he would not be coming back.

And yet neither of them retreated. The girl, a Waterbender, turned to the other, a Firebender, and aimed a jet of water at him, continuing their duel. Together they danced in battle, like fire and water, like the sun and the moon, like yin and yang, like push and pull, like Tui and La. But the world spun around them, oblivious to them both, as they continued to dance in circles, neither one backing down until the other did.

At a time a few hours after the Avatar had retreated, the two young benders still sparred. Exhaustion encompassed their bodies, and yet they would not stop fighting, fighting together.

It came as no surprise that they fell at the exact same moment out of pure exhaustion.

And it was then the benders knew that if they fought together, they would fall together as well.


	16. Not Going to Lose

A/N: A short little thing for Chocolate Swirlz. Happy holidays!

This drabble is about the second face-off of Katara and Zuko, when they save Aang from Zuko's grasp.

Title: Not Going to Lose  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 76  
Warnings: Sparring  
Challenge: 30  
Pairings: None

* * *

And there he was. Again. She had to face him off for a second time—and this time, she wasn't going to lose. She wasn't going to lose Aang either. 

He shot a streak of fire at her, which she blocked. She raised up the ground underneath him, and brought him back to the ground with considerable force. He didn't move when he came back to the ground.

Katara smiled. Victory had never been so sweet.


	17. The Avatar

A/N: My drabbles are too long for their own good. Seriously.

Enjoy this one.

Title: The Avatar  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 421  
Warnings: Twisted-ness  
Challenge: N/A  
Pairings: N/A

* * *

In the Ancient Days, there was a great war among four Nations. The people of the Nations could control an element, one of the four basic things that make up everything in the world. 

But Grama, how is that possible? There are no Nations. Everyone is the same.

Everyone is different, young one. Do not forget that.

Well, there is the Emperor and the Aristocrats and the Peasants and then us, right, Grama?

Those are just groups of people. Everyone is unique, regardless of rank. The Emperor knows not of the world he rules.

Grama! How can you say that? The Emperor is—

The Balance. The Protector. The Avatar.

The Avatar?

In the Old Days that is what he was called. The Avatar was born into each Nation in a continuous cycle. He is what kept balance. He is what kept peace. His goal was to make sure no one had more power than the other, and that everything was right with the world.

As is now, Grama. As is now.

The Emperor rules over the world. He does not keep peace. He does not do what is right. Child, the Ancient Days of the war were more peaceful than it is now.

Are you saying—

The Emperor is not the current Avatar. The First Emperor was an Avatar, though. The Second Emperor was not an Avatar, though he claimed to be.

The Second Emperor?

The Second Emperor was a son of the Avatar. He took the title of Avatar and people acknowledged him to be the Avatar, for they were desperate for a leader. And so the real Avatar never found out he was the true Avatar.

And now the Avatar is just a title bestowed upon the Emperor and the cycle has ended?

The cycle has not ended, child. The cycle has never ended. Those who say it has are wrong.

Then who is the Avatar?

Child, you are too curious for your own good.

But who is the Avatar?

The Avatar, child? The Avatar is the Balance. The Avatar is the Protector. The Avatar is the one who will stop the Emperor and give the world back its four Nations.

That is what you do, isn't it, Grama?

That is what the group I lead, the Elementals, does. That is our ultimate goal. But more importantly, we are destined to protect the Avatar until he comes of age.

Grama, who is the Avatar?

Who is the Avatar, child? That is for you to figure out on your own.


	18. Young But Knowing

A/N: Okay. Okay. I just want to make it clear that I absolutely DESPISE pure Kataang fluff. But I wrote it anyway. So it shows that I CAN see from a Kataangian's point of view, not just a Zutarian point of view. And I really hate this drabble, because it's just pure FLUFF and I absolutely hate fluff for _any_ ship. Subtle hints are the way to go, yo!

But seriously. I am so sorry to all the Zutarians who read this. Forgive me?

This is based on a quote from Forrest Gump, by the way.

Title: Young But Knowing  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 114  
Warnings: Nothing but uber Kataang fluff of doom…  
Challenge: It's a Kataang piece. I am proving that I can write Kataang… Um…  
Pairings: I haven't made it obvious enough? Aang/Katara

* * *

She thought him nothing but a child. The fortune teller had never said that she would marry Aang. Wu had just said a "powerful bender."

There were other powerful benders out there besides Aang. She could have anyone she wanted. And surely he didn't love her at all, for he was young and foolish and his affection for her was bred of a simple crush.

It came as a shock when he strode up to her, tall and proud, and took her hand in his own.

"Aang. _No_," she commanded. But his grip didn't loosen.

"I may be young, but I know what love is," he told her before leaning in for a kiss.


	19. Stars

A/N: I bring you yet another twisted drabble! Yay!

Title: Stars  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 260  
Warnings: Twisted-ness, Gore, Mild Horror  
Challenge: N/A  
Pairings: GirlxAvatar

* * *

She found solace at night, when she could lie on her back and look up at the billions and billions of sparkling white dots in the sky. Long ago, her mother had told her that they were Spirits, the Spirits who showed their inner beauty to the world each night when the moon rose (and sometimes even when the moon didn't rise at all).

But when she looked up at the shining Spirits, she wondered about the other spirits who didn't reveal themselves to the world. Did the unknown Spirits have the same beauty as the shining Spirits?

She closed her eyes, and opened them again. Wait—where were the shining Spirits? Where had the Oasis gone?

She stumbled through a swamp, trying to find out where she was. Something drew her to a twisted tree, where underneath its roots: a dark cave.

Creeping quietly inside, the woman flickered her eyes around. She felt a great presence here, almost like the Spirit of her lover's. The presence unnerved her, made the air thick. She heard clicking legs behind her, some movement—

She turned around, and a horrible, mangled face sneered at her. Her eyes widened. A Spirit! One of the unknown Spirits, who perhaps had inner beauty like that of the shining Spirits?

The Spirit hovered over her head and dove for her face. She still stared at him, musing, as he ripped away her beautiful face and added it to his collection.

Koh smiled, knowing of his victim's last thoughts. Now indeed he had the beauty of a Star.


	20. Believe

A/N: I am in a Sokka/Yue mood right now, heheh. So. This is very short, but it just doesn't need anymore words to express what is happening. It just… is.

Title: Believe  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 73  
Warnings: This one might be a lil bit of a tearjerker…  
Challenge: N/A  
Pairings: Sokka/Yue

* * *

Naturally, he never liked magic nor believed in the Spirits. Reincarnation? Unreal. The Avatar Spirit? Even if Aang was the Avatar, still—it was pure coincidence.

Simply said, magic and the Spirits and other fanatical supernatural things did not exist.

His eyes widened when she vanished from within his embrace. She had still been warm, even after death had taken her.

He looked up and saw her, more beautiful than ever—

He believed.


	21. Gift

A/N: This… is for Shadowsister, who just recently got into the Avatar fandom. Shades, thanks for everything. Hope you like this.

Title: Gift  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 221  
Warnings: None  
Challenge: A small gift for Shadowsister.  
Pairings: None

* * *

Katara had only just recently thought of how to show her appreciation and sisterly love for Aang. It was the Spring Equinox, and a holiday like no other in the Earth Kingdom.

Slowly, she bended water into a puddle and froze it into place. Pulling the ice up into a vague lump of some kind, she proceeded to chop off a piece here, a piece there, to make the sculpture complete.

She kept at it for an hour, two, three… Time flew by as she worked with exact precision, to make sure it was perfect. It had taken her so long to think of ice sculpting, and now she was determined not to mess it up.

For a brief moment, she paused. _Why am I wasting so much time on this?_ she wondered. It was getting dark and she still had to add the finishing touches to the piece.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, a voice answered her: _Because it's a gift. Because it is a beautiful form of self-expression and of showing gratitude: it is art, and it will be finished, no matter how long it takes._

A gift. That's why. Because it was a gift.

Smiling to herself, Katara continued with her sculpture, only satisfied when she could see the intricate details shining eerily in the moonlight.


	22. Gone

A/N: A random, rather dark and angsty drabble. I think I'm cutting down my drabbles a bit back down to where they should be (in the 100 word range), and this one's pretty close…

Title: Gone  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 102  
Warnings: Aangst, Implied character death/loss  
Challenge: None  
Pairings: None intended. But it's free to interpretation, I suppose.

* * *

He stared at her, gone into shock. She was there, yes, but she was not there. Something was missing. The spark of life was gone from her, and he couldn't save her. She was not gone, but… She was gone. Katara was gone.

The concussion from the battle had done something to her, and no healer could help her now. There was no hope for her. And if there was no hope of her survival, then there was no hope for him, for he had nobody left.

He may have saved the world, but no one in the world could save him.


	23. Hope

A/N: Yay, a Zutara for you all. I'm very proud of this one. And it's actually under 200 words! Woot!

Title: Hope  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 172  
Warnings: None, just fluffy Zutara-ness  
Challenge: None  
Pairings: Zuko/Katara

* * *

She watches him go as he disappears into the forest around the small clearing she stands in. The clearing is small and hidden away from everyone she and he fear—the World. It is hidden from the World.

It is in places such as this isolated little clearing that they meet, when the Moon is high overhead. She hates to see him go in the morning, when the cruel Sun slams against their faces, screaming at them to go back to reality, go back to what they are hiding from: the World. The World is cruel and not accepting of their love, and they fear and hate it all at once.

As she watches him go, she curses the cruel Sun and the biased World. And yet she feels a sort of hope, even as he leaves her, even as the Sun mocks her for her foolishness.

The hope, why does she feel the hope? asks the World that does not understand.

Because she knows he will come back, answers the Moon.


	24. Legacy

A/N: Everyone ever wonder what happened to Hahn after Zhao threw him over into the water? Well, this drabble is written to honor Hahn, who doesn't get enough love from the Avatar community as a whole.

Title: Legacy  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 294  
Warnings: Angst, Character Death  
Challenge: I wrote this to get some Hahnfic out there.  
Pairings: Hahn/Yue

* * *

His mother, hidden in the shadows, had watched him go out, leading his dangerous mission. Her child was adorned in Fire Nation armor, barely recognizable from the Water Tribe boy she knew and loved as her only child.

Hahn was the only one to carry on her family's blood. If he died, then there would be no hope for her deceased house. She would be unable to bear another child.

She had been so proud of Hahn when Chief Arnook had announced that Hahn was to marry the Princess. Pleased, proud, and joyous, she had gaily thought to herself that her blood would never die out, not when it was tied in so closely with the royal family.

The siege ran on from sunrise through the night. At one point the moon had died, and she had cried out in agony. But then the moon had been restored, and she rejoiced; if the moon was alive, that meant that her Hahn was alive as well, for the Moon Spirit watched out for all its people.

The next day at sunrise, she waited calmly for Hahn and the others. She sat in the ice and water, the grand element her husband bended, and she waited with all the patience of a sage. Her Hahn would come back, because the moon was alive and the moon cared for her Hahn. The moon loved Hahn, as the moon loved her and all of the Water people.

Hahn was her only son. He was the only chance she had of making sure that she had a legacy, that she would be remembered, that her family would be remembered. He was her legacy; he was the only thing she loved.

And so she wept when he didn't come back.


	25. The Next Reincarnation

A/N: I got inspired to do a future!fic. It's pretty neat. Just read it and ponder what the meaning of it is. Because it does have a meaning. And that is what you as the reader must figure out on your own.

Title: The Next Reincarnation  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 268  
Warnings: None  
Challenge: None  
Pairings: None

* * *

It is said that long ago, in this place, the people who lived here had a spiritual connection with the air. They could bend the air to their will, manipulating its movements to fit whatever they used it for. 

See the mountains that surround this place, the Potola Mountain Range? It is said that great animals of extreme power flew about these mountains, playing and enjoying the sunlight that filtered through the clouds, not giving a care because the Avatars looked over them from the sky.

Look at the spires. Aren't they lovely? It is from those spires that the ancient people who lived here would sometimes sit atop and stare out into the sky and mountains.

And you know what else is said about this place? That the Avatar who ended the Century War is from here. And you know what else is said?

That even now, the Avatar lives in this Temple. And that whenever a breeze blows through the Temple, he is watching over it, even though his people are long gone.

It is said that when a strong wind passes by a person walking through the Temple, that person is the Avatar's newest reincarnation.

See the strong wind that comes this way now? It always comes. I say that the last part of what is said about this place is false.

For, if it is that the Avatar sends a strong wind at everyone who comes to visit the Temple, that would mean that we are all Avatars, that we all have what it takes to save the world.

And that's just ridiculous, right?


	26. Evil

A/N: This one also has a moral. It's a little more gruesome, though.

Title: Evil  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 354  
Warnings: Mild violence, mild gore  
Challenge: None  
Pairings: None

* * *

After the war ended, Aang found out that there is no such thing as evil.

He had looked into Sokka and Katara's eyes and understood why they traveled alongside him. They believed that stopping the war and defeating the Fire Nation was the right thing to do, and that Aang was the catalyst that would stop the war.

He had heard about Zuko's past and realized why Zuko chased after him and tried to catch him. Aang was the Avatar, and Zuko could only restore his honor if he came home with the Avatar in custody. And Aang saw that, in Zuko's mind, that was the right thing to do.

He had smelled the carnage of war and the sickening smell of burning flesh caused by the Fire Nation's Princess Zula. Zula killed off Earth and Water Nation troops because she was defending her country, which she believed was the right thing to do.

He had tasted the dust in his throat that sprang up from the ground when an Earthbender hefted a stone from the earth and flung it at a Fire Nation soldier. The Earth Nation fought against the Fire Nation because the Fire Nation was trying to conquer the entire world. They fought to protect their weak and their innocent, and to free the world from the Fire Nation, for they thought it was the right thing to do.

And finally, he had felt the incinerating heat of Lord Ozai's stare on the battlefield when he and Lord Ozai had faced off. Lord Ozai did not explain why the Fire Nation was taking over the world, but Aang felt why, sensed why. Ozai was upholding the honor and reputation of the Fire Nation and finishing what his grandfather had started. It was like carrying on a tradition—it meant continuing and winning the war.

And Ozai had continued the war because he thought it was the right thing to do.

Even as Aang lay on the ground, soaked in blood and breathing shallow breaths, he understood: there is no such thing is evil. There is only the right thing to do.


	27. Trust

A/N: Just a quick drabble today. Takes place after episode 10: Jet. This is in the pov of the Duke.

Title: Trust  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 109  
Warnings: None  
Challenge: None  
Pairings: None

* * *

After the Avatar and his companions left, things were looking rather dull. The Fire Nation was trying to find Jet and the people of the valley were in an all-out rage at the loss of their homes.

Even at home in the trees, people were talking. I overheard Smellerbee talking with Pipsqueak; they reckon Jet is gone loony and they want to get out of here as fast as they can.

Me? I don't know what to think. Jet's the only family I've ever really had. He's like a brother to me. He is a brother to me.

All I know is that I trust Jet with my life.


	28. Blind

A/N: Woo… I'm so close to 100 reviews right now. A jar of cookies for the 100th reviewer!

Title: Blind  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 100  
Warnings: None  
Challenge: N/A  
Pairings: None

* * *

Katara remembered Tui and La swimming around in the pool of the oasis, one a pure white, the other an ominous black. Life and death, as it were.

At first, she thought that the white light was good and the black darkness was evil—like life and death, like Tui and La.

But soon she began to wonder about the evil black darkness—why it was the way it was.

And then, she realized.

In light, we can all see each other's differences and we discriminate against each other.

But in the darkness, we are all blind; we are equal.


	29. Envy

Title: Envy  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 104  
Warnings: Angsty Zuko, I guess.  
Challenge: N/A  
Pairings: Zuko/Katara.

* * *

He saw how she interacted with the Avatar and her brother. He knew of her optimism, of her aspirations and dreams and hopes and faith, absolute _faith_. And he would not look at her, would avoid her, because she was so familiar.

Because she was him—before the Agni Kai, before the scar, before the exile, before the disgrace. She was him before the dishonor.

And that was why he blocked her out; why he would not consider her to be more than a person—he had envy of her youth and her faith, and he would give anything to go back to it.


	30. Faith

Title: Faith  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 225  
Warnings: Rambling, Disjointedness  
Challenge: A sort of companion piece to Envy, the previous chapter.  
Pairings: Zuko/Katara

* * *

It sat there, in her bag, rolled up and barely noticeable. But she noticed it enough. It had been with her since long before the siege of the north. It was just a scroll, and yet, contained so much more than that.

She remembered the glowing yellow eyes more than anything else, how she had compared them to the yellow-eyed predators of the wild. She had seen the hunger, longing, anticipation of the goal to be achieved—it was all there. His gaze had been nothing but _predatory_.

And when she had battled him just recently, he had looked weary, desperate, and—envious? It concerned her to no end, but she shook it off anyway. Even if it kept coming back to haunt her.

She pulled the scroll out of the bag and unrolled it, looking at the drawn-out Waterbending forms. They were so fluid and flowing; like she had battled then, for Aang. And the prince, he had battled with force and yet a grace she had never really noticed—but also the hungry envy of a deprived person. He had battled, and yet it had been empty; faithless.

Rolling the scroll back up, she made to toss it into the water below, but she jerked her hang away just before she did such.

She did not throw the scroll because she had faith.


	31. Remembrance

Title: Remembrance  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 180  
Warnings: A slight wound, nothing more.  
Challenge: 35, Memory  
Pairings: Zuko/Katara

* * *

She looks around, but her vision is blurred. All she sees is splotches of color, nothing she can recognize. 

Now that she thinks of it, she doesn't even remember who she is.

She reaches to her head, to soothe a sore, where she feels a large gush of blood flow onto her hands.

What had happened? Why is she hurting? Who is she?

"Everything will be alright, just rest now," orders a deep, comforting voice. Then a hand gently takes her own hand off her head and bandages the wound.

"What?" she asks, still dazed. There is something familiar about that voice, something that is telling her to run, run, run…

But the voice is so comforting, so caring, and she is so vulnerable; here it is safe, here she will be safe.

The sense of safety is shaken when her vision returns. A large red scar on the left side of her caretaker's face causes her to want to escape.

"Just rest," says the voice, and all remembrance slips away as she appreciates the safety of her new home.


	32. Downfall

A/N: This is in honor of you, Arekisu. The authors of the Avatar section will miss you dearly.

Title: Downfall  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 177  
Warnings: Angst  
Challenge: A good-bye and good luck piece for Arekisu.  
Pairings: Zhao/Zula

* * *

For a short time, she had ruled the Fire Nation with Zhao at her side. For a short time, she had been queen. 

For a short time, there had been paradise, where everyone had accepted her position without question.

But now. Now was different—now her brother was on the throne, and the people were loyal to him. Zhao was dead—executed the day after the end of the war.

And she—now she was locked up in a jail cell, waiting for her death to come at sunrise, on the fifth morning after the end of the war. The sky would be as red as flame, to show the anger of the Spirits at her alleged wrongs.

There was so much loss. Her country, her throne, her honor, her love—her paradise. Everything had fallen in shambles, the dream imploding upon itself.

When the men came to escort her to her execution, she stood with dignity and pride.

She may have been going down in the worst way possible, but she would do it with honor.


	33. Prisoner

Title: Prisoner  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 214  
Warnings: Weird-ness  
Challenge: None  
Pairings: You'll see…

* * *

The hero always gets the girl. It's a simple fact of life. But the girl had—had gone elsewhere. To someone else, who she would spend eternity with.

He sighs, absent-mindedly stroking Appa's fur. The fur is coarse to his touch, so unlike her skin—arg. There has to be a way to get her off his mind. It had been love at first sight, but she had left him, so maybe… Maybe he can love another?

Someone's muffled cries interrupt his thoughts; he turns to face the person. It is a prison—his prisoner, a Firebender. Not just a Firebender, but Fire Nation royalty. The one who had sought to capture him and his little family so many times.

The Firebender stares pleadingly at him with amber eyes, and he gives in, undoing the gag around the prisoner's mouth.

"I couldn't breathe! How dare you restrain me like this! I order you to—to—"

But he isn't listening to the Firebender's angry demands. A thought crosses through his brain, and will not let go. "Would you—would you be friends with me?" he asks, desperate, because he lost the one he loved.

The Firebender stares at him oddly. "What?"

He sighs again. Sokka never really could understand the workings of the female mind.

* * *

A/N: Ha! I bet you thought the prisoner was Zuko and that Sokka was actually Aang. Haha I am so evil… 


	34. Capture

A/N: Behold! This is my take on the over-done plot, done as a drabble! The ending is quite fluffy.

Title: Capture  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 459  
Warnings: Zutara fluff!  
Challenge: None  
Pairings: ZxK

* * *

He knew he had been lucky, when she had fainted right before he captured her. He had battled her before, and she was a worthy opponent.

Once back on the ship, he had ordered her to be kept in the brig, only to face his uncle's wrath: _"Nephew, be nice! The brig is not the place to keep a guest!"_

And, grumbling, he had ordered the men to give her a small, barely-furnished room that no one slept in. He had been certain he had ordered the door to her quarters to be locked, but somehow she had managed to slip out of her room.

It was a good thing he found her, or else his plan of luring the Avatar to his ship was ruined.

His uncle had seen him catch her, for he said he had been out for a walk on the deck; his uncle had just mentioned a suggestion, some sympathy for him: _"You cannot trust anyone but yourself to get a job done right, Zuko."_

Taking his uncle's words into consideration, he had sat guard outside her locked quarters all night, to make sure she did not escape. It was tiring, but it had worked; there were no escape attempts from her that night.

The next few days, he had continued the same job, to make sure that she did not escape. But he grew exhausted, and could not help but drift off. She made an escape attempt then, and he barely stopped her from achieving what she strived to do.

For the rest of the night, he sat in her quarters, making sure she did not indeed find other ways to escape. And he continued that for a long while.

And during those nights, when neither she nor he slept, they talked. They talked out of pure boredom, and with pure spite for each other; but still, they talked.

_"Zuko,"_ his uncle had said one day as they ate dinner together, _"you are exhausted, I can tell. Why don't you get rest tonight; your prisoner will not escape."_

And he, worn to the point of exhaustion, agreed without question. He had expected her to escape; but she had not. She had not even tried, apparently.

When he went to see that she did not escape that night, she observed that he had not shown up the night before. She told him she had missed his company, for company was rare for her besides him.

After that, they grew closer through their discussions during the night.

And then one day, the Avatar came and she escaped.

He was restless and angrier than ever, treating his crew badly.

That afternoon, while he was meditating, he realized something.

He may have captured her, but she had captured his heart.


	35. Knowing

Title: Knowing  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 152  
Wrnings: Fluffiness… I'm in a fluffy mood this week, aren't I? Maybe it is just coz of all the rumors of Zutara in season two. (squee)  
Challenge: None  
Pairings: Aang/Meng, coz it's the cutest ship there ever was.

* * *

For the next few days after Aang left, Meng had been miserable, to say the least. Wu had wondered at it and then known; one did not have to be a fortuneteller to know what was going on.

"Meng, my child, what is ailing you so?" asked Wu one day.

Meng frowned, her unmanageable hair drooping ever so slightly. "Ever since Aang left, I—humph. I'm too young for him, Aunt Wu! He likes that older floozy!"

Wu smiled, amused. "My dear assistant," she said with a hint of a smile, "don't you know that age is just a number? You are wise beyond your years, child."

Meng looked up at Wu, her eyes seemed to sparkle, a welcome contrast to the misery they had held before. "Do you think he will ever come back, Aunt Wu?"

And Wu, knowing the answer without even looking into the future, replied, "Yes, he will."


	36. To Save The World

A/N: Another one with a moral today. And the tone is kind of scornful, looking down upon the world. Just read it.

Title: To Save The World  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 299  
Warnings: Aangst, sort of? Weirdness, as well.  
Challenge: None  
Pairings: None

* * *

The End.

Normally, a story does not start like that. But do you not know that the end is only the beginning?

The end of the war brought an end to Fire Nation rule over the other Nations. But the world was shaky, about to collapse on its feet. There was civil war in the Fire Nation as the people tried to find a new leader. The Kings of Earth Nation cities taxed the people to pay for the war expenses. The Earth people could not afford to pay the taxes—they could not buy food if the taxes were to be paid. A famine resulted, urged on only more by a drought. The Water Nation's Southern Tribe struggled to survive with the help of the Northern Tribe. The Northern Tribe was still in the process of rebuilding their city after a long siege. The Air Nation was completely annihilated.

Ending the war was not the only thing that had to be done. The Nations had to be saved, leaders appointed, food found for the hungry, cities to be rebuilt—and all this lay on the shoulders of one person, the Avatar.

The Avatar had his own problems to deal with. The world needed the help of another.

But there was no one else. This time, the world did not have a savior. This time, the world had to save itself.

And it only surprises me more that it did. Thank the Spirits it did. If the Avatar had saved the world, think what would be—one emperor ruling over all Nations, the Avatar. But with the development the Nations have made on their own, everyone is now equal; everyone is now free.

Sometimes, it does not take one person to make a difference. Sometimes, it takes the world.

* * *

A/N: So. The moral of the story is to not wait for someone else to make a difference. Instead, stop waiting around and do something for yourself. Don't rely on others to make your life worthwhile. Embrace your fate; take destiny into your own hands. You can do it. As proven in episode 14, xP. 


	37. Blessing

Title: Blessing  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 276  
Warnings: Angst  
Challenge: None  
Pairings: None… Although there may be a Sokkara hint if you're really looking for it. 0.o

* * *

I stand, waiting for Chief Arnook to put his blessing on me before the great battle. Receiving a blessing from the Chief is a time-honored tradition of the Water Tribe, and it ensures that Tui and La will look out for me during the chaos of warfare. 

The battle that is to come will be a great one, one that will go down in all the history books. It is the end of the struggle, the end of the war, the end of the end. It will soon be over, and a victor will stand atop the rubble of the Fire Nation Capital. I can only hope it will be Aang who stands there, victorious, before the comet comes.

The comet is coming in a week. We must defeat the Fire Nation before the end of week, and I will be there with all the others to make sure that happens.

Chief Arnook dips his fingers into the small crude cup of red paint and reaches to touch my forehead. Something interrupts him, however, and I am not sure what, until I see my brother rushing at me in a mad frenzy.

"Katara!" he bellows, "You are not going into that battle!"

He is so like my father. But I must do what I must.

Smiling, tears forming in my eyes, I embrace him tightly. "Sokka, I love you," I say before knocking him back into the crowd of anxious, anticipating Water Tribesmen. The crowd swallows him up, and a tear slides down my face as I turn back to Chief Arnook and receive the blessing.

I am so sorry, Sokka. But this time, I fight.


	38. Wings

Title: Wings  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 66  
Warnings: None  
Challenge: None  
Pairings: Kateo (Oh Em GEE it's not Zutara or Sokkue!)

* * *

When she came to the Temple for the first time, he flew with more strength, more freedom, for he sensed her lack of it. He taught her how to fly, to be one with the winds. He gave her the gift of flight, of freedom, of pure spirit. 

And, in turn, she gave him wings so that he soared higher than he had ever had before.

* * *

A/N: How's that for some light-hearted fluff? I rather like Kateo now that I think of it. 

And also… PIMPAGE! I am pimping a wonderful author and friend, Shadowsister. More specifically, her Tea & Sympathy. It's a great series of Iroh-centric drabbles so far; go read it, dudes!

Huzzah for pimpage. Um… R&R?


	39. A Thousand

Title: A Thousand  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 100  
Warnings: Um, it's not so much a drabble as a chant, but whatever…  
Challenge: None  
Pairings: None

* * *

A thousand lives, a thousands times, a thousand ways, a thousand days.

A thousand friends, a thousand amends, a thousand years, a thousand tears.

A thousand lovers, a thousand mothers, a thousand guides, a thousand strides.

A thousand faces, a thousand places, a thousand voices, a thousand choices.

A thousand roads, a thousand loads, a thousand perspectives, a thousand objectives.

A thousand wars, a thousand chores, a thousand souls, a thousand goals.

And yet only one spirit.

Avatar, do you hear it?

Or perhaps do you fear it?

It is the echoes of the Others giving their blessings to you.


	40. Wanderer

A/N: This is a study-up (sort of) about one of the new characters, Kinto the Waterbender of the Northern Tribe. If you haven't heard about him, then check out the Avatar TCG site; there's a bio of Kinto there.

Title: Wanderer  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 287  
Warnings: Boringness? This drabble isn't anything spectacular, y'know.  
Challenge: This is a character study of Kinto the Waterbender.  
Pairings: None

* * *

He's always been one of those world-traveling types. Y'know, the kind who is always restless and feels as though he's missing something and that he has to search to find it. Have you ever had that feeling? I know I have, but then again, who hasn't? 

Back when he lived here, he was a decent Waterbender; he was a student of Pakku's. Of course, he mostly used Waterbending more for practical jokes than for fighting, but he was a competent young man.

And yet still. He was almost _cruel_ in his jokes, and his few friends soon severed their ties to him. I suppose that contributed to the reasoning of his leave, but there was still more to it than that.

I think he said—I think he said he was destined for greatness or something of that sort, and that the North just was not ready for people of his caliber. That is absolute rubbish, of course, but he always never really did connect to people as well as others did. He said he was a loner, and that he was born to accomplish greater things than to just sit around in a stagnant city of ice for the rest of his days.

I am not quite sure where he is now. I've heard he writes his family sometimes, but that's probably only once in a blue moon (begging your pardon, Tui, for that awful pun). He's just—let me say that from what I knew of him, he wasn't a very social person. He's a—oh, what do you call it—a wanderer! That is what he is, he said.

And you know what he said before he left? "Not all who wander are lost."

* * *

A/N: Two sugar cookies for whoever knows where the last sentence came from! 


	41. Trial and Error

Title: Trial and Error  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 151  
Warnings: Aangst  
Challenge: None  
Pairings: One-sided Kataang

* * *

She wouldn't listen. He tried and tried again, but she wouldn't listen. 

He tried giving her a panda lily. She shrugged him off.

He tried confessing his feelings to her. But she didn't listen, too worried about some new crush she'd gotten.

He tried to show her his prowess in bending ability. She only got jealous and stormed off.

He tried to save her. She wouldn't be saved; she said she could save herself. She said she knew what she was doing.

Once she had made that terrible mistake of falling in love with another, he tried to show her the error of her ways. But she just yelled at him and cursed him for not letting her be herself.

He watched with an empty heart as she was swept away from him, and this time, he didn't even try.

Because it was not enough, not enough, it was never _enough_.

* * *

A/N: I dunno why I wrote this, but I guess it just sorta came out when I sat down to write. I actually wrote the last line first, and then it just poured out after that. 

But, point being, I have another Kataang piece to my name; I'm starting to branch out a bit with all the ships for these drabbles. Anyone have a particular favorite you want me to do?

Also, the last line from the last drabble was from Tolkien! Congrats to you all that got it right!


	42. Curved Blades

Title: Curved Blades  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 128  
Warnings: Very Mild Violence  
Challenge: A request drabble from HanaTohruShipperMorgan  
Pairings: Zuko/Aang friendship

* * *

He sat in the dark prison hold, wondering about what was going to happen to him. They were getting closer and closer to that awful, dreaded place by the second, and the rolling of the ship on the waves only seemed to mock his failure.

A loud, sudden clang of metal against metal resounded throughout the room, from down the hallway. Footsteps echoed quietly, and he swore he caught a glint of a blade, but he couldn't be sure, couldn't be sure—yes! There is was, the glint of a curved blade, no, _two_, right in front of his cell—

He was not in the least surprised to see the blue mask staring down at him, urging him to come on and _get out_ of that horrible place.

* * *

A/N: Okay, so, not my best drabble, but at least I tried. Pairings I have yet to do are Sokka/Yue, Karu, and Jetara. I will get around to doing those. 


	43. Sentimentality

Title: Sentimentality  
Author: Red Haw K'sani  
Word Count: 83  
Warning: Run-on Sentences of DOOM  
Challenge: A request drabble from faLLen-dreamz  
Pairings: Sokka/Yue

* * *

He would stare up at the night sky, dreaming of her, holding her in his arms once again. Gone, gone for too long—but then the memories would stream through his mind, and he would be with her once again, and they would be walking quietly through the moonlit streets of the Northern City, holding hands, enjoying each other's company. 

And then they would stop on a bridge, and she would kiss him, and even if it was a memory, it was _beautiful_.


	44. Weary Soul

A/N: I attempted to write Karu, and failed. Badly. But read it anyway, if not for a laugh.

This is told in Gran-Gran's point of view, btw.

Title: Weary Soul  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 109  
Warnings: Crappy-ness  
Challenge: A suggested drabble from Shadowsister.  
Pairings: Katara/Haru

* * *

Everyone knows that after a while, all wandering souls grow weary and wish to rest, to settle, to live life in peace. Whether it takes five months or five years or five decades for this to happen, no one can tell, but it will happen; it will.

My granddaughter soon grew weary of travel, but the Avatar had not, for he was a born nomad. She left the Avatar to find a place to settle, to rest.

And so she settled. She settled with a young Earthbender in his mining village, and they soon married. For everyone also knows that no weary soul can hope to last without support.


	45. Enigma

A/N: I wrote Jetara. And did not fail. Huzzah! It's all rather subtle, but still, it's Jetara. Be proud of me. :)

Title: Enigma  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 96  
Warnings: Twisted-ness/Weirdness  
Challenge: A drabble suggestion from Shadowsister.  
Pairings: Jet/Katara. Subtle, but it's there.

* * *

"Katara! Well, I must say, it's nice seeing you again," Jet's voiced whispered sinisterly in her ear as he held her by the arms. She couldn't see him, but she knew he was there. 

"Leave me alone, Jet," spat Katara.

"Why so spiteful? Are you still angry about my actions? The Fire Nation must be taken out, Katara, even if it takes the whole Earth Kingdom with it as it falls."

Katara tore away from Jet and stared into his dark eyes with a hateful expression. "You're insane," she hissed.

Jet smiled humorlessly. "Aren't we all?"


	46. Raw Power

A/N: This drabble is based off the little exclusive clip of The Avatar State that Nick released online. Go check out turbo Nick and you shall see it!

Title: Raw Power  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 191  
Warning: Twisted-ness, Mild Mental Trauma, Evil Spirits, Run-on Sentences of D00M (Yet again)  
Challenge: None  
Pairings: None

* * *

He saw himself meditating; his Other Self turned around and he saw, it wasn't so much him as the Spirit—it was the Spirit, and it had this horrible, twisted, almost evil look on its face.

Aang saw the Spirit send a billowing wind at Katara and Sokka; and then the wind blew him away and he was in Avatar Roku's temple, and the doors to the sanctuary were opening, and there was the Spirit, angry as ever, brimming with raw power.

And then he found himself on the deck of a Fire Nation boat, and there was the Spirit, coupled with the Great Spirit La, the La-Avatar slashing the ship in two.

He woke up, breathing deeply. The Spirit was—no, no, not the Spirit, the renowned Spirit of the World, the Planet Reincarnate—the Spirit could _not_ be evil. He was _not_ evil, he was _not _brutal, he was _not_ cruel.

But his mind told him something else, and he knew he had to get away from this place before he hurt anyone else, before he became that terrible, terrible monster, the evil deity that was the Avatar Spirit.


	47. Waiting

A/N: Written in the state of waiting impatiently for the new season to come. XD This one is kind of… powerful, and well… You'll just find out when it occurs, won't you?

Title: Waiting  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 205  
Warnings: Drama/Sadness  
Challenge: Done while waiting for the new season to air!  
Pairings: None

* * *

The silence was overbearing, oppressive and foreboding and disturbing in its absolute unopposed reign over its minute realm. A lantern cast light in a small radius, illuminating the area, but the corners of the tent were in shadow, uncertain and hazy, as though one could not see just quite clearly what lay beneath their cover of shadow.

She could all but duly note this as she sat, silent, tired but having no desire to sleep; desiring of conversation but unwilling to talk; afraid but being stubbornly opposed to her fright of the future.

As the small flame within the lantern burned, her eyes took in the other three within the tent: the Avatar, her greatest companion; her brother, the strongest warrior and greatest leader she knew; and the Prince, the most honorable person there ever was. And together, they sat and stared at one another, and said nothing, uncomfortable and almost tortured with this sense of one last night before it all ended, before so many would die, only a few hours now until they may never see each other again—

And still they said nothing, but they understood each other perfectly, for company is the best thing to have before one goes to die.


	48. Secrets

A/N: HOMG NEW SEASON YAY! But preview of new episode ZOMG NOOOOOOO! WAAAAAAAH!  
:weeps:

Title: Secrets  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 146  
Warnings: Character Death, VERY MILD Spoilers for "The Avatar State," Sadness; Most definitely not for the faint of heart.  
Challenge: This drabble is a mirror of my feelings of hope for Zutara ever becoming canon now.  
Pairings: Zutara (YES, DAMMIT! I still ship it…), Sort of very sad and bitter Kataanginess

* * *

Secrets are always best kept secret. 

But of course, she did not know this. She did not know how he would react, or rather, how his Spirit would react—the Spirit of terrible, terrible power, and yet so vulnerable—it really was a balance, she now understood.

But it was too late and it was too late for regret and repentance because she had naturally defended herself, done what she could do, save herself, save her beloved, save what already and undoubtedly _was_. But to save what she wished to save, she had destroyed the hope of the world. The Avatar was _gone_, gone, and it was _all her fault_.

The Prince stayed by her side while she wept and held the lifeless body of the last Avatar there ever was; and he wept too, for he knew that the world was utterly and irrecoverably _lost_.


	49. Moon and Sun

A/N: That promo was so. EVIL. Grrr…

I have formally decided that this week will be a Zutara-only week for me. Meaning, only Zutara drabbles (and other fics) shall be published. Perhaps even a mutli-chapter one, 'cause Engagement Necklace is finished. But this week is Pro-Zutara Week for me. It's my own personal way of STICKIN' IT TO THE MAN, MAN! Anyone else wish to join me on my lil' Pro-Zutara action? xp

Title: Moon and Sun  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 86  
Warnings: None  
Challenge: It's Pro-Zutara Week, baby!  
Pairings: Zutara

* * *

Moon and Sun, Moon and Sun. The moon orbits around the Earth, that is true; but the Sun draws in the Moon with its gravity; and the Moon will go to the Sun because it is drawn in so. Moon and Sun, Moon and Sun, in perfect balance with nature, in absolute, perfect harmony. 

Moon and Sun, friends and lovers, people upon Earth, drawn to one another, in perfect balance—

No one can ever resist the will of the Spirits, not even the Moon and Sun.

* * *

A/N: Oh yes, take THAT, you evil promo… Soooo, anyone else going to participate in the Pro-Zutara Week with me?  
:puppy dog eyes: 


	50. Connection

Title: Connection  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 145  
Warnings: Weirdness, I suppose. 0.o  
Challenge: Written for Pro-Zutara Week. xD  
Pairing: ZxK

* * *

Gold flashes against blue, staring with an emotion that can not be deciphered by looking into those burning irises alone. The identification of the emotion goes deeper, down to the very soul; and though the connection is but brief, it burns in her mind long afterwards.

And in that connection of souls, she knows what he is trying to tell her: Not yet. Not now. Somewhere else, sometime else. But not now, because now is the worst time for it.

As he leaves her, she wished she had stared right back him, telling him with that same gaze: Why wait? You are not supposed to wait for it to happen. It happens. Now.

But he has left and the moment is already over, and the connection broken, and she can only conclude that some things were never meant to last, and that nothing is forever.


	51. Aftermath

Title: Aftermath  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 127  
Warnings: Gore, maybe?  
Challenge: Pro-Zutara Week  
Pairings: ZxK

* * *

It is an hour after the battle has ended, but the carnage and blood still stain the ashy, burned city. People left and right are dying or dead, and she does not know if that person has lived or died, if this person has lived or died—if he has lived or died. 

She scurries through the remains of the great Fire Capital, trying to find him—there! Speaking to a soldier who is barely alive; for now he is the Fire Lord and it is his duty to put as many people as he can at ease.

She rushes over to him and stares.

He sees her and stares back.

Quite suddenly, they embrace. And though the exchange is wordless, it means everything in the world.


	52. Deep Night

A/N: HOMG RetaroO, you ROCK! This drabble is dedicated to you. :)

On other matters: Check it out! Made this a perfect 100 words _without editing_. Is that creepy or what?

Title: Deep Night  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 100. Without editing. D00d.  
Warnings: None, really.  
Challenge: Pro-Zutara Week  
Pairings: ZxK

* * *

The deep night surrounds them, eerily silent and rather foreboding, and it is though they hear the very voice of the night hissing at them: _Curse you, curse you, for it is forbidden._ But it is only the wind whispering in the leaves, and they continue on anyway, running through the woods to their appointed meeting place where they will be safe from the shadows of the night, from the whisperings and disapprovals of the world.

And when they meet one another, the hissing voices of disapproval are forgotten; and in the deep night, there shines a ray of hope.

* * *

A/N: I just realized that the author notes are as practically as long as the drabble. xD 


	53. Survival

A/N: This is sorta an AU kind of thing set after the war. I think you will realize quickly what has happened.

Title: Survival  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 283  
Warnings: Gruesome, Weird, Run-on Sentences of DOOM, Kind of sarcastic towards society's tendency to gossip and blame terrible events on certain people  
Challenge: Pro-Zutara Week  
Pairings: ZxK

* * *

They blame her for the Avatar's death rather than the Avatar's murderer, the Fire Lord, because she wasn't there to save the Avatar, she wasn't right there when he fell, she was supposed to _love_ him and be his greatest companion. They say she hated the Avatar, and that she never loved him, and that she wanted to hurt him so badly that she neglected him in the final battle. They speculate that she is a selfish, evil woman who worked for the Fire Nation, and it is all her fault that the world is broken into pieces and civil war and disease and terror of being killed every single day, because she wasn't right there to save the Avatar. It is her fault that the world is dying, dead, not worth living for. 

But she has a rock-hard resolve and she can stand the terrible accusations, for she knows that she was lost from the Avatar in the frenzy of battle and that she saved who she could and without her, many people would have died. It is not her fault that she did not search for the Avatar rather than helping the people at hand who were dying, calling out for help, pleading to the Spirits—and she, like a Spirit herself, healed them as best she could, selfless, draining herself to the point of absolute exhaustion.

Now, as she looks back, she realizes that the Avatar had it lucky. It's so much easier to die than to _live_.

And most of all, she knows that it was so worth saving him, the Fire Prince, for he may be considered evil, but with him, she knows she can survive it _all_.


	54. Impatience

A/N: As Pro-Zutara Week is coming to a close, I realize that I haven't done any Zutaras in Zuko's point of view. Well, this drabble is here to amend that issue. xP

Title: Impatience  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 110  
Warnings: None  
Challenge: Pro-Zutara Week. (sniff) My week-long holiday will be over tomorrow…  
Pairings: ZxK

* * *

He doesn't know why he's come here. It's forbidden, he reminds himself, and it's late, and I should be sleeping. He is waiting impatiently. What is taking her so long? 

She still hasn't come. He begins to doubt his judgment and scolds himself for having hope. He's had hope before, but nothing good has ever come of it—any good news was always fake, always _lies_. Why should this be any different? None of this is worth it.

But he sees her finally, and all his misgivings are suspended, for he is now quite certain that it is worth a _thousand_ sleepless nights if he has finally found his salvation.


	55. Scars

A/N: Well. What an episode. And you know, the Kataanginess of it all didn't affect me that much. The Hippie Rock Group and the Appa/Momo moment made up for it. xP I dare not say any more for fear of ruining the episode for others who have not seen it yet. All I can say is that Understanding is now either AU or null and void because of this episode. But I'm going to keep my original plot and tweak with the prologue.

And I just realized these author notes are WAY too long.

Title: Scars  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 385  
Warnings: Spoilers for The Cave of Two Lovers (That means DON'T READ THIS if you haven't seen the episode yet. I repeat, DO NOT READ THIS.)  
Challenge: Final drabble for Pro-Zutara Week—although there may be a new-episode-based one-shot for Zutara (And OmaShu).  
Pairings: Zuko/Katara and somewhat Zuko/Song

* * *

When she had found him on the outskirts of the small Earth village, she hadn't recognized him at first. His face was too obscured by his hat, and the spiky black hair was nothing familiar. But when she had seen his true face (he had turned around at the call of "Junior!" from some old man nearby), she had reacted upon instinct: assume her fighting stance and duke it out with him once again, knowing that she had to win at all costs. But that was not the case; when she met his eyes, she knew he was scared and he was planning to flee. 

He sprinted through a nearby field, yelling, "Mooshi! Run!" She chased after him, determined to find out what the heck was going on.

Bending some water from the pouch at her side, she tripped both Zuko and the old man called Mooshi (who she now realized was Zuko's uncle). Zuko flipped onto his back, and his eyes clouded over in fear.

She just stared, somewhat shocked. After a moment of silence, the word tumbled from her lips before she could stop it: "_Mooshi?_"

And Zuko's uncle smiled a ridiculous grin at her, mirthful and cheery. "That would be me."

----

A while later, he sat on a riverbed, and she sat next to him. She spoke quietly, and he answered, his voice equally soft. He told that yes, he was a fugitive, and yes, he had nowhere to go, and yes, he supposed he would have to join the Avatar now that there was no hope left of ever returning home.

And then they spoke of other matters, something so eerily familiar—a memory of Song and him sitting on a porch, speaking, and Song reaching for his scar—and he felt certain that now the Avatar's companion would do the same thing, telling him he is not the only one with scars.

But she did no such thing, and a wordless understanding came between them: We all have scars, but they are only a thing of the past; they are unimportant in the grand schemes of the present and the future.

And with that understanding a fragile bond of true companionship formed between them; and finally, he was able to let go of the past and embrace the future.

* * *

A/N: Okay, so it's long-winded and not much Zutara, but I really like this drabble. It may be too long to be a drabble, but I don't care. It is what it is, and I'm happy with the result. 

Also, plans for Understanding: I shall be tweaking that plot a bit to make it canon. And I think I'll either incorporate some of the Oma/Shu legend in that new story, or I'll do a Zutara (and OmaShu) one-shot. Sound good? Okay.

Tomorrow is the last day of Pro-Zutara Week. If you wanted to write anything for it, now would be the time.


	56. Second Chance

A/N: Breaking away from Pro-Zutara Week, I recently got a request to do a two-sided Jetara. Well, here it is! Hope you enjoy it, Jet's-GirlFriend.

Title: Second Chance  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 136  
Warnings: Twisted!Jet, Kinda dark  
Challenge: Request drabble from Jet's-GirlFriend (Sorry it's so late! But it was Pro-Zutara Week when you requested it so… Yeah.)  
Pairings: JetxKatara

* * *

He's no longer the dashing, brave hero that she thought he was. To her, he is now nothing but a sick, twisted boy with no conscience whatsoever.

She's no longer the sweet, innocent girl with a sense of spunk. To him, she is an obstacle intent on preventing him for achieving The Dream, where the world is finally free from all Fire Nation scum.

They no longer see each other in a positive light. They hate each other.

But when they meet again (purely by coincidence), she decides she will heal his wounds by loving him. He in turn decides to take her back and give her another chance, and she's the first one he's ever given a second chance. But even if it is a first, it's a start, and that's really all that matters.

* * *

A/N: Regarding other matters, since Pro-Zutara Week is over, I'll be taking requests again. I'll do pretty much any pairing (I will attempt yaoi/yuri if you really want me to, but it'll probably come out friendshippy more than anything. xP). It's a first come, first serve basis, btw. So. Um. Word. 


	57. Argument

A/N: I know. I know I have requests to do, but this drabble was just BEGGING to be done after the Moppa moment in Cave of Two Lovers. (YES! ONE OF MY OTPs IS CANON! –SHOT-)

Title: Argument  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 89  
Warnings: Beware the strange pairing…  
Challenge: None  
Pairings: Appa/Momo (YUUUUSSSSS!)

* * *

Momo snatched the fruit away from Appa's paw, squawking something at the giant fluffy bison. Appa grunted in response, reaching for the fruit. Momo pawed at Appa, refusing to yield some of the fruit to the bison. 

Sokka sighed. "You know, those two argue like an old married couple," he mused.

Appa and Momo froze. Momo had an expression on its face that plainly said, _How do they know?_

Aang's mouth hung open, Katara choked on her tea, and Sokka couldn't stop laughing as Momo's ears drooped in embarrassment.

* * *

A/N: …No comment… 


	58. Mother

A/N: I tried, I really did. Hope this came out okay.

Title: Mother  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 273  
Warnings: Crack pairing, I guess; Run-on Sentences of DOOM  
Challenge: Request drabble from Han Futsu Anti Normal  
Pairings: Zuko/Kana

* * *

"Where are you hiding him?" 

His eyes scan the tiny group of people, composed of mostly women and children. As he looks upon each savage, primitive face, he notices details here and there: this woman has her hair in a braid, that child's eyes are wet with tears, that mother is hugging her children as if it is the End of Time and the time to say good-bye has come.

The gold eyes stop short on the elderly woman standing in the middle of the group, and he knows her to be a leader by her air, the way she carries herself, by that wearied, sentimental look in her eyes. It bothers him, for that look reminds him of another—a memory of his beautiful mother, weeping and hugging him tightly as death stole away her soul—and he immediately hates her for that look.

He reaches into the crowd and brings the woman up by the neck, holding her in a threatening way. _How dare you be so like her…_

But the thought is forgotten and his mission encompasses his mind once again. "He'd be about this age? Master of all elements?"

But no one answers, and he is lost in his reveries once again, sees that awful look—

And he doesn't harm her, but shoves her back to her people, where she will play the role once again as guiding female in their lives, as mother of all, and he thinks for a second that it was his fault his mother died, and, grunting in frustration, he sends an arc of fire at the people who have never known true _loss_.


	59. Days

A/N: This is a drabble about Malu the Ghost Witch, just to let you know. I'll leave it for you to decide which character, the child or the mother, Malu is, although it should be pretty obvious.

Title: Days  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 346  
Warnings: Gore, Genocide of the Air Temples  
Challenge: Request drabble from Shadowsister.  
Pairings: None

* * *

On the first day of the siege, mother and child fled to a cave in the great mountains surrounding the Temple. The child cried out, but the mother shushed the child and together they stayed in the cave, watching as the evil ones destroyed all that the two had known and loved.

On the second day, the mother smelled smoke in the air and the child coughed, begging to get outside and run around with the other children once again. But the mother was stern and hushed the child, and told the girl to stay in the cave. The mother exited to check where the smoke was coming from, but she already knew: the smoldering Temple that had once been her home.

On the third day, the evil ones were scouting the mountains for survivors. The mother was scared and told the child to hide deeper within the cave while she kept a lookout. Discontent and longing to go outside, the child obeyed the mother, but quite a few times did she wish to run out of the dreary cave and see what was going on in the world that had changed so greatly within the past days.

On the forth day, the child awoke, waited for a while, and then finally decided to go out. The child searched around for her mother, but there was nothing: only scorched marks on the rocks and floor of the cave, and a faint smell of charred something that made the child sick.

On the fifth day, the child waited patiently for her mother to return to the cave.

On the sixth day, the child looked out at the valley and gasped in fear: the Temple had burned down.

On the seventh day, the child went back to the Temple and found it abandoned, stained with blood and scattered with decaying bodies. Afraid, the child returned to the cave she had hid in and, completely exhausted and utterly drained, slept.

And on the eighth day, as the sun poured its rays on the earth, the child awoke and wept.


	60. Family

A/N: This started out as a Zutara and evolved into Sokka talking to his sister. I hope this qualifies as Sokka angst, jellyjay. xP

Title: Family  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 146  
Warnings: Weirdness…  
Challenge: Request drabble from jellyjay  
Pairings: None

* * *

You can go out and befriend others; you can leave me and give your love to another; you can be the guiding light of someone else, and I won't mind. 

You can travel the world if you want; or you can run off into the mountains, or go off to train with the Avatar, or even dive into the ocean and swim away and I won't mind.

You can wrong me until I can be wronged no more; you can hurt me until I die; you can douse my hopes until I have none left, but I won't mind.

Just be sure that, once you find yourself out there, you come back home. A man isn't much without his family, you know what I mean?

No matter where you go, I will be waiting here for you, the only one I have left, my only family.


	61. A World of Wrongs

Title: A World of Wrongs  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 217  
Warnings: Character Death, Gore, Creepiness  
Challenge: Request drabble from CelticGoddess1986  
Pairings: None

* * *

"Azula." He says her name, his voice filled with unnatural hatred. She stands there, leering at him, over the corpse of his uncle, so bloodied, so lifeless—and that too is unnatural, everything is unnatural. Everything is so wrong. 

_Where did it go wrong? What led to this?_

"Angry at me, Zuzu?" Azula sneers, dodging all his attacks playfully. "That man is not our family, you know; he is nothing but a traitor."

_How could you do such a thing? How can he be dead?_

Hatred, bitter and unnatural hatred, courses through his veins and overtakes him so that he is no more than a beast going by instinct. A punch here, a kick there—but not enough, nothing gets close to her, and she still keeps her cool.

_Why is everything so wrong? Why is nothing right anymore?_

"I think I get it. You cared for him, didn't you? Foolish, Zuko, foolish; that is your weakness. And anyone who has a weakness is no family of mine. May you be forgotten for all eternity and left here to rot." And then the strike of lightning, so quick, so sudden, so unexpected—but the darkness comes quickly, and in the darkness, there is peace…

_I understand. Nothing ever was right. This world is a world of wrongs._


	62. Interpretive Dance

A/N: Okay, this was a challenge from Shadowsister. It is an interpretation of her art piece Puppet, which you can find a link to in my bio. Please do not hurt me because I've completely butchered the challenge… Eh, whatever, I wanted to be vague. And this sounds cool. And for some reason, when I was told to "interpret," I immediately wanted to call this drabble Interpretive Dance.

Title: Interpretive Dance  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 144  
Warnings: Vague, Confusing, Symbolistic, Just. Plain. WEIRD.  
Challenge: Request/challenge drabble from Shadowsister  
Pairings: Zutara, baby. As if it could be anything else.

* * *

Moonlight meets Sunlight; and there, a rare peace occurs, a thing of great beauty and mystifying circumstances. The meeting place is on the bank of a great ocean, and the shore is as black as midnight, the sand formed by the fiery mountains surrounding. 

Once the two lights meet, they begin to dance: slowly as the skies stay dark, but faster as the heavens burst with brilliant color.

But then, as the Moon fades away into the last of the darkness, Moonlight fades away as well. And Sunlight shines brightly and intensely, giving off a false sense of closeness to the earth when really its home is so far away. Sunlight shines high from heavens, all the time held by a string and dragged down over the horizon as Moonlight gains control over the skies once again, bringing tranquility, bringing peace to the world.

* * *

A/N: Sooooooo… Can you tell what happened to Zuko and Katara? I think the last sentence is probably your best hint as to what was truly happening. Me and my effin' symbolism. xP 


	63. Guardian Angel

A/N: I am sorry for the length of this drabble; it's much to long. But I don't feel like cutting it down, so this is what you get. Please be sure you have seen Return to Omashu before reading this, btw. Also, I apologize for the weird title; I hope you get why it's titled that.

Title: Guardian Angel  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 283  
Warnings: Spoilers for Return to Omashu, length, rambling  
Challenge: Written in response to the new episode. I heart Tom-Tom.  
Pairings: None.

* * *

The War had long been over; Fire Nation victory had been easy once Ba Sing Se was successfully taken. The Avatar had disappeared; and the Final Battle had been a measly one, the entire Firebender army against a last stand of Earth and Water people. Their efforts were in vain and they had fallen with ease. And all was at peace, and the Mission had been completed: the Fire Nation ruled the world. Empress Azula ruled the world. 

Tom-Tom, governor of the city New Ozai, stood at his balcony one day, looking down upon the grand city and contemplating all that had happened. Long ago, he remembered something—someone—had saved him from a Resistance of Earthbenders, back in the Spring of the last year of the War, when he had been quite young. He remembered his mysterious savior—a young boy of fair skin, adorned in bright colors, tattooed with blue arrows, possessing of caring eyes.

Caring eyes. That one trait he recalled more than anything else. Eyes. Eyes—

And quite suddenly, still facing the city, he said, "Avatar, have you been watching over me for quite a long time now?"

There was a quiet rustling of fabric, a small gust of wind, a whisper that he couldn't hear just right.

But still, he smiled. "We will rise up and right the world. My debt shall be paid, Ancient One."

And in that moment, he thought he heard a song of joy floating on the breeze; but as he turned around, he saw nothing, and he wondered if he had just imagined it all.

Even so, he could not help but whisper in return, "The world shall at last be at peace."


	64. Taboo

A/N: Okay. Tried to take requests and what can ya do? At a certain point, some relationships can't be written. Sorry, guys.

Title: Taboo  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 148  
Warnings: None  
Challenge: A weird drabble turned right.  
Pairings: Zutara

* * *

The world hates them. They are taboo. They are irregular. They are _different_. Different in a way that disturbs the world, different in a way that shocks their friends, their families.

The grandmother tells them: You will never be safe. You will be shunned. Tui and La shall release their wrath upon you.

The friend tells them: I can only do so much to protect you. My job is to keep peace in the world, not defend a dream that can never be.

The once-enemy tells them from her prison: Well, isn't this a coincidence? So, brother, you decided to run off with the girl even if she is a peasant. Fool.

The girl's father tells them nothing. He refuses to speak to them.

The Fire Lord also tells them nothing. But he is dead.

The world is against them. But they would have it no other way.


	65. Destiny

Title: Destiny  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 142  
Warnings: Character Death, Angst, Dark  
Challenge: None  
Pairings: A teeny itsy bitsy hint at Zutara if you stand on your head and squint your eyes.

* * *

She was supposed to die in her sleep at an old age, when still yet unborn great-grandchildren would live, when she would be looked upon reverently, when the world would finally be at peace. That is what the fortuneteller had told her; and, being young and naïve, she had believed the old woman.

But now, hopes of that future were at best bleak. The Avatar had failed—her brother, lost—and her Tribe: incinerated by the terrible Enemy. A feeble friendship with the only person she had left, the fugitive, had developed, but only temporarily, for the Enemy had killed him too.

The future that should have been would never be, and she understood this now perfectly. There was nothing left for her in this world.

So she took her destiny into her own hands, like the fortuneteller had said she could.


	66. Unfortunate

Title: Unfortunate  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 152  
Warnings: Azula, Weird pairings, Hate/Love relationships  
Challenge: Request drabble from Han Futsu Anti Normal.  
Pairings: Zuko/Mei (Apathetic Emo Chick), Zuko/Tai Li (Pink Circus Freak)

* * *

Mei dashes to the left, knives and other assorted sharp things flying from her hands. Tai Li on the right does a modified handspring, pouncing off the ground and lashing out at her prey with a well-aimed, two-footed kick. The efforts of the two girls are enough to knock the once-Prince down: he stumbles, trying to avoid the knives and gets the wind knocked out of him as a severe jab to his back sends him crashing to the grass. 

Tai Li and Mei stand over him, glowering at each other. But someone shoves the two apart to the side, saying, "He's mine."

The malicious grin on her face coupled with her clenched fists is enough to tell Zuko that he is in some serious trouble.

"Father will be so pleased to see you," Azula hisses, and Zuko thinks that he would take both Mei and Tai Li any day over _this_.

* * *

A/N: Right. So, I tried to do the challenge. And this is what came out. Sorry… But y'know, I think I may have a new favorite crack pairing: Zuko/Tai Li. W00t!

:shot by all fellow Zutaras:


	67. Eternity

Title: Eternity  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 124  
Warnings: Angst, Warfare, Run-on Sentence(s) of DOOM  
Challenge: Request drabble from Rashaka  
Pairings: Zutara. As if it could be anything else. (Beside Zutai or Kateo… :SHOT:)

* * *

The battle is terrible; it rages on either side of them, and there is no rhyme or reason to it. It is simply war. There will be no victor; everyone will die, and none will be left to remember those once-human people who have de-evolved in the course of a day back to a creature running on instinct and bloodlust alone.

The only two that retain any sense of human emotion are lovers forbidden by the war that rages about them; and those two feel no hope, for they know the end is coming. As a last resort, they say a silent, bitter farewell, thinking only of the could-have-beens and the should-have-beens, trying to capture an eternity in a kiss that lasts a second.


	68. Insignificance

A/N: I wanted to write something decent, something inspiring, something meaningful—and I typed up this. May I apologize in advance for the crappiness of the writing.

Title: Insignificance  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 115  
Warnings: Philosophy, I suppose; Weirdness  
Challenge: I just randomly felt compelled to write something philosophical after Hue was all "We're all connected lolz!"  
Pairings: None

* * *

It is hot summer, and the two boys are lazing around in one of the numerous courtyards of the palace, mulling over nothing. One eyes the Sun high overhead and says to the other, "Agni is so great, but he is so far away from us. Mother says only some of his light touches the Earth, and that his light expands as far as the end of the sky. And he's so big, too. It makes you feel so insignificant, you know?"

Ozai turns to his older brother with an apathetic face that says it all. "No, I don't know and I don't care."

Iroh just looks away and mumbles, "Yes, and you never will."


	69. Change

A/N: I just wanted to let you guys know that I am alive! I know, I meant to update Understanding (You couldn't possibly understand how much I hate that title, pardoning the pun) this weekend, but things came up. So a new chapter should be out today? Tomorrow? Friday? I dunno, sometime this week. Just to let you know.

Title: Change  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 127  
Warnings: Mentions of Warfare/Hardships, Katara angst  
Challenge: None  
Pairings: None

* * *

So many things have come to pass over these last six months. The war has finally ended, but there are few Firebenders left on the planet, the Air Nomads have completely died out, the damage to the Earth Kingdom may never be repaired. I am living in a dying world, and it sickens me when I think back to the very beginning, when I thought what a great adventure this would be.

I thought that once the war ended, there would be absolute peace. Once the war ended, I could go back home and live without fear. Once the war ended, there would be four Nations again and everyone would be happy.

I look back to the beginning; I see that naïve girl and I _hate_ her.


	70. Acting

A/N: I love how this drabble came out. It's supposed to be Tai Li/Sokka, although it really isn't exclusively about the pairing. It's more about the relationship between Tai Li and Azula, as psuedo-friends, if you will. And I'd just like to say, Tai Li is not out of character. I am exploring a deeper side of her—she can't be all pink auras and happy-go-lucky giggles.

BTW, I've got one page of Understanding ch.2 written so far.

Title: Acting  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 190  
Warnings: Crack pairing  
Challenge: Request drabble from experiment.  
Pairings: Tai Li/Sokka (Sorry it's so indirect)

* * *

It's all an act. It's all an act. You learn to act when you're out on the streets by yourself. No.You don't just learn to act. You learn to survive.

And, by the Great Agni above who doesn't even exist, I survived. I made it to the place of my dreams. I found my way through the bad times and the horrible conditions and past the evil people. I ran away, and I learned to survive.

To survive in the circus, though, you've got to put on a smile for the crowd. If you don't, you'll be kicked out. If you don't know how to act, you won't survive.

It's all an act, and she doesn't know it. The Princess doesn't know it. She doesn't know that I have betrayed her, she doesn't know that her best friend left her long ago. She doesn't know that I am on the same side as the one she hunts, and she doesn't know that I'm a lover of the one she dismisses as no threat.

She doesn't know. It's all just an act. But at least I know how to survive.


	71. Pain

A/N: Okay. This drabble is really kind of _out there_, if you get what I mean. It's all Aangst one minute, rebelling against Roku the next, thinking philosophically the next, and then back to Aangst… :headdesk: That's what I get for trying to incorporate a theory into an Aangst drabble, heh heh.

Title: Pain  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 115  
Warnings: Aangst, Unclearness, Weird theory  
Challenge: None  
Pairings: Zutara, one-sided Kataang

* * *

When Aang first saw them together, he was heartbroken, torn, livid. Roku appeared to him to calm him down before anything else could happen. Aang refused to listen.

Later, as he stroked Momo's fur, he quietly closed his eyes, ready to drift off to sleep—

_Oma and Shu were both masters of neutral Jing_, explained a voice. Aang started, eyes darting everywhere, trying to find who had said something about Oma and Shu—he realized, the voice was inside his head.

_But now that they are reincarnated into different people, they cannot form a neutral Jing without one another._

He understood—he knew their love had been explained.

Even still, that didn't explain the pain.


	72. Recovery

A/N: I'm so sorry for this horrible writing. It's just… bleh. Yep, that about covers it.

Title: Recovery  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 88  
Warnings: Genocide of the Air Nomads, bad writing, weird concept  
Challenge: 47, Spirit  
Pairings: None

* * *

The Spirits of Air are almost asleep, almost gone completely from the world. They saw their Avatar take leave of this world for a world of ice, and soon after that followed the genocide of the Air Temples. The Spirits didn't watch, but knew it was over.

And so they looked to the North and saw a people living in their Air Temple; and they realize their people were alive all along.

It is no surprise that the mechanist's son is born with the Spirit of an Airbender.

* * *

A/N: BtW, I have about five pages of chapter two of Understanding (I'm SO going to change that hideous title) written, and I am contemplating whether to write more of it or post what I've written. But just to let you know (if you read that fic), it's not dead. So. Yeah. 


	73. Underestimation

A/N: I have this irrational feeling that I'm absolutely going to love Toph. The two new drabbles are all about her. Huzzah for Toph Tributes! xP

Title: Underestimation  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 138  
Warnings: Spoilers for The Blind Bandit/Earthbending Tournament  
Challenge: A somewhat character study of Toph.  
Pairings: None.

* * *

They underestimate her when she says she wants to participate in the Tournament.

"Young girl, you can't even see, how can you expect to survive?"

But she shrugs him off anyway and insists on being in the Tournament.

They underestimate her when she battles with them.

"I'll go easy on you, young girl—I swear I'll try not to squash you like a fly but really, what can you do?"

She ignores the comments and summons up some of the earth below her.

They underestimate her when she draws up the earth to prepare an attack.

"Whoa now, you actually can bend? That's a shocker, there!" And they laugh cruelly.

She smirks darkly and lunges forward.

They stare in silence, vowing to never take things for face value ever again, and she knows they won't underestimate her anymore.


	74. Seeing

A/N: Okay, here's the second one.

Title: Seeing  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 123  
Warnings: Spoilers for The Blind Bandit/Earthbending Tournament  
Challenge: A somewhat character study of Toph.  
Pairings: None

* * *

She is blind, her eyes fogged over; she sees nothing.

But still, they say there is this odd phenomenon that when you are blind or deaf, your other senses grow stronger, better. And they say that it might be the case for her.

She's a Master Earthbender, you know. I'm not quite sure how you could be a bender if you're blind, but I'm not a bender, so I wouldn't really know.

They say, however, that she can bend the earth because she can feel it beneath her and connect to it with her mind better than most other Earthbenders. That's why she's so good, apparently.

Or maybe it's just that she sees in a way that none of us could ever see.


	75. Listen and Wait

Title: Listen and Wait  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 284  
Warnings: SPOILERS LIKE WHOA, DUDE!  
Challenge: Written for the sake of writing something after the new episode.  
Pairings: Toph/Aang. Because you know you love it. (Anyone else getting these weird visions of a Toph/Aang/Meng love triangle? –shot-)

* * *

They sit together, silent. He watches as she stares at the sky blankly; he suddenly remembers that she cannot see the stars, the little shining rays of hope. Feeling empathy even though he knows she wouldn't appreciate it (she doesn't like it if people _pity_ her), he frowns slightly.

"Toph?"

"What?" she says bluntly. He smiles inwardly. She's always like that. Blunt, bold, unafraid. That's what makes him admire her—he sees past her blindness. She listens. She waits.

"Why do you stare up at the sky if you can't see it?" He immediately regrets the question—she'll be angry with him for feeling pity.

But she doesn't flare out at him. For once, she just sighs peacefully. "I've never had trouble seeing," she states quietly (and he is somewhat shocked, for it is so unlike her to be soft and quiet). "But I have never seen the sky. I wonder if I look at it long enough, then maybe I can imagine how it really is."

"Oh. It's beautiful, all these great sparkling spirits, and the Moon watching over it all. It's great," he says awkwardly—the words are not his own, they seem to pour out of his lips. "It gives you this weird sense of safety and home and contentment and—"

He remains silent for a moment; and she does too. Now is the perfect time, he tells himself. But no. He must listen. He must wait. That is what she taught him; that is what Bumi told him; that is what he will do.

But instead he doesn't wait, and he seizes the moment with a stroke of foolhardiness and luck, and she, for once, is caught by surprise.


	76. At Peace

A/N: Right, so, this is a Soph (Tokka?) drabble. Hope you like it. The style is a bit different other than my other drabbles, btw.

Title: At Peace  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 82  
Warnings: Weird pairing?  
Challenge: Request Drabble  
Pairings: Sokka/Toph

* * *

She is blind, but she sees more than any human ever could.

He is foolish, but he is more ingenious than people can comprehend.

She listens, and she makes all those around her appear deaf.

He thinks, and he befuddles the smartest around him (when he actually _thinks_, that is).

She hears, she knows. He observes, he understands.

She has never loved before. He has lost many lovers.

She waits. He doesn't.

And for once, they are at peace with the world.


	77. Starcrossed Lovers

A/N: Okay. This is the most randomest thing EVER. Seriously. It's supposed to be a Zutara… Then it got all out of whack (speaking of which, did I spell that right?). But I guess the point of this is… well, I'll tell you AFTER you read it, how about that?

Title: Star-crossed Lovers  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 324  
Warnings: Weirdness, Numerous mentions of Spirits (meaning, religious-philosophical junk like reincarnation), Run-on Sentences of DOOM, Light (if at all present) satire  
Challenge: None?  
Pairings: Zutara. Erm. At least that was the intention.

* * *

They are Tui and La; they are Oma and Shu; they are every other set of star-crossed lovers that ever existed. They are one in the same; they are who they are. They are called by many names, but it is all the same, all the same.

Except this time, the sameness is broken. This time, these incarnations, are different than all the other ones who are yet exactly the same. Forever, it has been that the two couldn't be in love because of the oppressive world. But now, it is because the two have not fallen in love yet. Circumstances twisted only by fate have prevented them from even meeting each other very often.

Something is wrong. Something has changed. Something is different, and it upsets all the past lives.

The two of them are unfit to be the next incarnations, argues a past life.

The two of them will never love, cries another.

The two of them are not the same as us, a third adds, and they really can't be us, can they?

No, no, sighs an exasperated forth, they are us, for it is all the same, all the same.

But no, no it's not, says the third, They're not the same; it's not all the same.

Suddenly all of them are silenced by a quiet chuckle. The past lives turn, and find themselves in the presence of an unknown spirit—no, that is wrong, that is wrong, it is a familiar spirit—the Avatar spirit.

The past lives cower in fright.

Ooh, get it away, get it away, one of the past lives whines.

You foolish starlings, observes the Avatar spirit with a laugh, relax! It's fine, really; I am doing my duty as the great force of Fate. Don't you know that all you need is a little patience?

The past lives stare at each other, dumbfounded. Patience never really was one of the virtues of star-crossed lovers.

* * *

A/N: So the point of this was that it seems that all star-crossed lovers/lovers who can't be with one another force themselves into this rushed, dramatic pile of mushy gushy goo that, while it looks okay in poetry or in Shakespeare, gets annoying after a while. And so the moral of the story is that love should not be rushed, and that things like that take a lot of time and a little patience. Once again, I apologize for the craptacular writing. Peace out, dudes. 


	78. Epitaph

A/N: So. I realize I haven't updated this thing in forever. Well, I'll tell you why: because I've been working on other drabbles and one-shots! If you want to read my other drabbles if you liked these, check out Rain, my new post-war drabble series. Or, if you like my character studies/vignettes, check out Never Forget. Heh. Sorry for the shameless self-advertising.

This drabble is sort of…out there. It's just some random scene that just came to me. It's not a romantic drabble; not at all. Don't interpret it that way. I don't want it interpreted that way. Please, see it as what it is—people tend to exaggerate things terribly; history is not always told in a non-biased manner. Just read it. You'll get it.

Title: Epitaph  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 452  
Warnings: Symbolism (Maybe?); Run-on Sentences of DOOM (cue lightning)  
Challenge: None  
Pairings: None

* * *

Katara is with the scribe; they stand by a table with a large stone on it, a blank stone that will soon be not blank—it will be covered with words. Words of praise, words of admiration, words of worship, words of remembrance—empty words that will mean nothing to the true people who know who the words are for.

The scribe looks at a page of beautifully written characters—they are his, for he is a scribe, and it is his trade to write calligraphy. The words are his, and they are in the memory of a person he never even met.

The scribe picks up the chisel and moves to make a mark in the stone—a hand stops him.

"No," she orders quietly. "No. That isn't him. He wouldn't have wanted this."

The scribe bites back words of disdain and scorn; she is but a peasant, how _dare_ she insult him! But she is the only remaining friend of the one to be remembered, and she is to be honored for it.

"What, my lady?" he says bitterly, not holding back the bite in his remark.

She scowls at him. "Aang wouldn't have liked it. Leave it. Leave here. I'll do it myself, with words that do matter, words that are true!"

He stares at her with contempt. "Lady, will you read this, please?" He motions to the page with the beautiful calligraphy characters on it. She reads it reluctantly.

_Avatar Aang, greatest of all Avatars. He lived for 114 years, ended a century-long war, restored peace throughout the world, bestowed justice upon the Fire Nation, single-handedly united the Northern and Southern Water Tribes, and swept all corruption of the royal family in Ba Sing Sei, founding a new royal family in New Ozai. Avatar Aang died in the most unfortunate and accidental circumstances, but he will always be remembered as a great man. He was not an Avatar—he was a god._

Tears stream down her cheeks. "No, no, no, it's all wrong! He didn't do that! And he didn't die like that! And the city isn't called New Ozai—it's called Omashu! He doesn't want to be remembered as some pompous, all-powerful dictator. You twisted everything. You ruined everything. Leave. Now."

The scribe starts to protest, but she whips out a strand of water threateningly. The scribe is no fool—he has heard stories of her power. He knows not to question her. He leaves her, cursing her insolence.

Katara turns to the stone, and picks up the chisel and hammer. She engraves in it a simple epitaph, something fitting for Aang.

_Aang: a strong spirit, a fierce companion, a dearest friend. He gave the world hope._

She smiles weakly; she knows her words won't last.


	79. Tapestry

A/N: I had this written and upload in document manager a looooooong time ago, but I never got around to posting it. Well, here it is, because I seriously need to update my drabble collection. BTW, this drabble is set right after The Blue Spirit.

Title: Tapestry  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 776  
Warnings: Not contemporary (set in first season), old writing, weird analogies, Zuko's moodiness  
Challenge: None  
Pairings: None

* * *

Silken and skillfully woven, its makers have incorporated vibrant oranges, yellows, and reds to bring the flame to life. It is encompassed by a field of black, as if it is encircled by nothing but shadow—there is much symbolism that is in this work, but however many times I have looked upon it before I slept or when I woke, I have found none. But today, I think I might be seeing it differently than I have before, about the meaning behind the piece.

It was made by several peasants of the Fire Nation, after all. Peasants who have been worked hard and disdained, who have suffered the most during the long war, who have forever and ever provided the middle and upper classes with grain to live off of. Peasants who have been scorned, under appreciated, taken for granted, and made to pay for the war effort while the upper class lives in luxury.

Peasants who probably were rather displeased with the Fire Lord, my father.

I frown, still disgusted by it. For so long have I adored this tapestry, found solace in its weave.

I hate it with all my heart now, and all that lifelike flame in the picture stands for. The peasants who made it were right in their thoughts, probably more than they believed: because of the flame, there is no other life. There is only darkness and shadow and disease and death and suffering, hidden behind a veil of cloth that only one who has suffered such may see through.

I am surprised that I haven't seen it before like I have now.

I am sick of this thing. I will send for a servant to dispose of it while I am overseeing the crew today.

Or yet, perhaps I should not emerge from my room at all. I was away all last night, and did not return until morning. The crew will pester me about not being present at Music Night last night.

Not like I've ever been to one of my uncle's ridiculous monthly Music Nights anyway. I've always had much more pressuring and important things to do.

But now my mind wanders, voices in my head whisper to me, questioning as to why I was doing those 'important things,' those matters of finding the Avatar.

To question authority is to be wrong. To be wrong is to be disgraced and dishonored.

…But am I not dishonored already? And I'm not even a man. My uncle reckons that I became a man when I turned sixteen this year because that is when boys of the Fire Nation traditionally become men.

But I am without my honor. A man without honor is no man. A youth without honor is most certainly not a man.

Especially if that certain youth has to wear a sign of his dishonor every day and night.

Fire's bane, the voices are questioning again. Do not question what my father has ordered. It will be fine if I do as I am told. I will not question.

Enough of this. I will look upon this tapestry no longer. It just will not do.

With a quick fireball, it is up in flames; in a few minutes, it is no more than ash.

Strange. Just as the peasants predicted in the symbolism of the tapestry.

Leaving it behind, I ready myself for my men's presence. It is midday. I should have stayed in bed, for the crew will look down upon me for sleeping over.

Wandering around the deck, I find my most honored uncle on board. He is looking out at the ocean serenely.

"Uncle."

He does not look at me, but rather responds, "Yes, Prince Zuko? Do you have something to tell me?"

It as if he has seen into my past and read my emotions.

"No," I state automatically. He looks up at me, a strange expression on his face. "I… have something to show you," I explain.

He nods, heaves himself up, motions me to carry on.

I lead him back down to my room, show him the charred tapestry. He looks at me with a strange expression.

"Zuko," he states, "I have suspicions of what you were doing last night—"

"Yes," I tell him, cutting through his question. "You know what happened?"

"I have my ways of knowing things," he responds evasively, with an eyebrow raised.

"So you know—"

"Yes."

"And?"

Uncle glances down at the blackened ashes, as if musing something.

"You know of honor more than even your father, Prince Zuko."

"What!"

Silence. And then, in a very soft, thoughtful whisper—

"You truly are a man."


	80. Purple

A/N: So, I really need to learn how to write both Mei and Tai Li. For some reason, I just can't capture their personalities quite right. I make Mei too sarcastic and Tai Li too serious. Thus, this is for practice. Behold teh uberly awesome purple AURA!

Title: Purple  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 311  
Warnings: Abruptness maybe, Tai Li's ditzy-ness. xD  
Challenge: None  
Characters/Pairings: Tai Li

* * *

She felt bad for Azula's fallen uncle who lay near death, dust settling on him. But she did her job, what she was told—if she dared disobey the Princess (her supposed friend), bad things would happen, and her aura would turn black (Even if it already was a dark blue).

So she helped Mei haul the old man onto a giant lizard (that meant either Mei or Tai Li would have to walk—there were only three giant lizards). "I'll walk, Mei," Tai Li said quietly.

Mei nodded indifferently. "Walking's just as boring as riding a giant lizard anyway…"

As they finished securing Azula's uncle onto the giant lizard, Azula addressed them curtly. "We need to get him secured quick—he's not called the Dragon of the West for nothing. But I still need to catch Zuzu—which one of you is walking?"

Tai Li smiled. "I am!" she declared happily, jumping and flipping over in the air to add emphasis to her statement. Mei sighed and Azula just said, "Track Zuko." The Princess slapped the giant lizard on its haunches and sped off into the distance.

"Another monotonous lizard ride," droned Mei before making her giant lizard dash after Azula's, the lizard with Azula's uncle on it in tow.

Tai Li blinked quickly and made a quirky smile. Her aura had suddenly and inexplicably grown pinky-purple, a mix of emotions that included excited, bouncy, and devious. She loved the pink tone in her aura—and the purple, so devious, so exciting! The thoughts it inspired in her head! Dreams of running away, of rejoining the circus, of being herself, of having a pink aura once again…

She grinned to herself, laughing at how odd it was to have such a purple aura, and flew through the trees towards the bliss, wonder, awe, fun, the absolute _pink_—

Home was calling.


	81. Shouldn't

A/N: Again, I haven't updated in forever. I've been busy. But now I have lots and lots of free time to write, so I should be updating more often. One of my issues is that I've almost run dry of ideas… All the plot bunnies that come into my head are for long stories or one-shots. I have two AU plot bunnies, two or three one-shot bunnies (of which I am in the process of writing one), and an urge to continue Entente Cordiale and not let it die because it fits with the current canon again. XP Point? Gimme requests. I have nothing better to do. I won't write incest, and if you request slash, I'll probably just do it as a friendship thing, so considered yourself warned. :D

Title: Shouldn't  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 213  
Warnings: Um… cliché plotline? xP  
Challenge: None  
Pairings/Characters: Zuko; also Iroh, Aang, Sokka, Katara, Toph, and a dash of Ozai and Azula

* * *

He dreams and dreams of things that should be, things that should still be. But everything is messed up and he wasn't born into a perfect family, but a completely dysfunctional family. There is no definite concept of home, either; home is his ship—home is riding the ostrich horse—home is being on the run with Uncle—home is on a bison's back.

His dreams are far from coming true. In his dreams, he should not be on the same side as the Avatar. The Avatar and his friends should not be willing to even look at him. Uncle should not be near death, and the Waterbender should not be Uncle's healer. The Earthbender should not relate to him, and they should not share a moment in which they realize the other is (partly) blind. He should not become fast friends with the Water Tribe warrior. His father should not hate him; his sister should not be hunting him.

There are a lot of things that shouldn't be happening. But all the same, they are.

As he falls into sleep as the bison soars over the sea, he thinks that maybe this is really all that he ever dreamed of, and that he would take this life over his dreams any day.


	82. The Darkest Day

A/N: I haven't updated this in forever. SORRY! I blame writer's block. Any requests? Please? Because ideas don't come to me as fast as they used to. xP

WARNING! THIS DRABBLES CONTAINS SPOILERS! DO NOT READ UNTIL YOU HAVE SEEN THE LIBRARY AND THE DESERT!

Title: The Darkest Day  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 428  
Warnings: SPOILERS LIKE WHOA FOR "THE FURY OF AANG," weird writing style, Toph angst, lack of Appa  
Challenge: Response to the new episodes  
Characters/Pairings: Toph, Katara, Aang, Sokka; mostly Toph and Katara friendship

* * *

It is night, a dark, dismal night, and the four of them are silent as they sit on the sand-glider, the Sandbenders propelling it forward with their unique style of bending. It will be a while before they reach the nearest oasis, however, and it will be hours of sitting and listening and feeling nothing.

Toph is incredibly uncomfortable—she cannot see very well, and she can hear nothing but the sand billowing up behind the sand-glider. It is a rather eerie feeling, and all Toph knows is that it is night because of the shadows and the coolness she feels. She knows Sokka is slumped somewhere nearby her on the sand glider, presumably sound asleep, judging by the light snores emitted into the night air. Toph hears a shifting of fabric—it is loosely fitting fabric, very swishy and soft sounding—that must be Katara. And the other sound of fabric, nearly the same as Katara's, but a little louder, more stationary—that must be Aang, sitting perfectly still, wide awake, saying nothing.

She frowns guiltily, knowing things will be difficult from here on. Aang might've lost trust in her. Their main method of travel is gone. Sokka's still sick. And Katara is—Toph doesn't know what Katara is. She can barely tell where Katara is, let alone what Katara is feeling. Just—empty, probably.

All Toph feels is drained and exhausted. And guilty. So guilty.

She hangs her head, shielding her eyes against the sand flying wildly around the sand glider, protecting her useless eyes that have no meaning. She can't see, she can't feel, and she's just lost. Nothing feels right anymore—nothing feels like it did when she first left home, knowing she was bound for adventure and excitement and companionship and independence, all the things she'd never known but secretly craved for all her life—this is what it is? It's not all that great, she thinks.

A clenched fist, closed eyelids, tears trailing down her cheeks and a choked-back sob—a comforting hand on her shoulder, a foreign object that is nothing and everything at the same time.

"It's going to be okay, Toph," Katara says quietly to the blind girl. The tears continue, but they aren't just tears of sorrow or guilt or self-pity—they are of fulfilled longing, realization, happiness—

This is what it is, Toph realizes. This is what makes adventure and excitement and independence so worthwhile—companionship.

Even on her darkest day, Toph is still able to see into the light, however far off it may be.


	83. Wish

Title: Wish  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 243  
Warnings: None  
Challenge: Trying to distract myself from writing the one-shot I have about three paragraphs of on my computer…  
Pairings/Characters: Katara, Aang, Toph, Sokka, Zuko; a wee bit of Zutara if you think the cloud of sand in the distance is a "friendly mushroom" xP

* * *

"Do you wish," she says suddenly, jolting everyone present out of his dazed state. Tomorrow is the grand finale to the war, the final showdown, the siege of the Fire Capital, and everyone is on edge, seeing his life flash before his eyes. "Do you wish that all this had never happened?" 

Aang stares at her, shocked; Sokka raises an eyebrow; Toph looks at her blankly with even blanker eyes; and Zuko lowers his head. Katara somewhat understands his tendency to be withdrawn from their little group, partly from the recent loss of his uncle and partly from the uncertainty he feels about betraying his own country and family.

Katara sighs, continuing her speech, for she needs to break the silence with something and the question has been lingering on her mind for days. "Do you wish that it had gone differently? That it wasn't supposed to be like this? That some of us shouldn't even exist?" She shifts nervously, realizing how personal and awkward her questions are. But she can't stop, for something in her wills her to keep talking, to find out the truth.

"Do you wish that this had never happened?" she asks again, quietly, nervously.

A firm response from a voice she isn't expecting to answer: "No." The fierce golden eyesscorch her own with their fiery sense of absolute truth. "No," he declares again.

She smiles softly. "As I thought," she says, "this was all meant to be."


	84. Memories, Visions, Dreams

A/N: I'm writing this to give away a hint of a new story thing that I might be writing soon; it's an AU plot bunny that's been with me for a couple months and I had to get at least this out.

Also, I'm updating to inform everybody that I won't be updating for a couple weeks. Just so everyone knows that I'm not dead in the next week or two.

Title: Memories, Visions, Dreams  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 318  
Warnings: Angst, AU-ness  
Challenge: Written to spark my interest in one of my AU plot bunnies  
Characters/Pairings: Katara

* * *

I hate the memories.

The memories aren't mine—they are someone else's, a thousand different peoples' memories, all shoved into one single mind—me. Why do I remember all these different people? Incredible people of all different Nations and time periods and personalities, each worthy of the world's awe and respect. They don't have anything to do with me, so…why do I remember them?

And then it's not just the memories, but the visions as well—I don't see the environment around me, I see a whole different scene, a whole different world that yet is still mine. Visions that aren't from either the past or the future—that much I know. They're visions of the present. To be correct, visions of a present that should be but is not.

All that I've learned from the visions is that I'm not supposed to exist. But I exist anyway, and it scares me.

The worst part is neither the memories nor even the visions. It's the dreams that scare me the most.

If my memories are of the past and my visions of the present, then my dreams are most certainly of the future. Or, yet again to correct myself, thousands of futures—a single path split in a million different ways so that it's like some ancient tree as old as the world with more branches than all the years it has endured.

The dreams are dreams of terrible consequences: of apocalypses, of global war, of plague spreading across the entire world, of hurricanes raging and tearing apart the skies and earthquakes tearing apart the earth. After the dreams I wake sometime during the night, and I cry and cry until I have no more tears because I know that there is no hope for this world.

I know I'm the hope for this world from the memories and the visions—and from the dreams I remember that my existence is meaningless.


	85. Smoke

A/N: I'm not dead, I just haven't been around computers for a while. As I will be for the next week or so as well. Sorry about the lack of updates, but hey, what can I do?

Oh, and for the readers of Rain, I made a trailer for it. The link is in my bio.

Title: Smoke  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 277  
Warnings: Character death, Zuko angst, dark, confusing, Run-on sentences of DOOM  
Challenge: None  
Characters/Pairings: Zuko, Iroh

* * *

He watched silently as the flames grew taller and taller, like some kind of warped plant from hell. Smoked billowed up above him, black as the moonless night sky, dark as the shadows of his dishonor, hopeless and infinitely pigheaded as his mind, a perfect mirror of his soul—a dark, disdained whirlwind of thousands of guilty thoughts and regrets, of wasted opportunities and lost days. Of stupid wishes and fake consolations that told him everything is going to be all right, and you will wake up tomorrow and this will all be a dream, and uncle will be sleeping peacefully and snoring like he always does.

Stop it, stop it, stop it! He wanted to scream out at the consolations, tell them they were wrong and that everything is not all right, uncle is burning and dead and he will not rise from the ashes like the Sages say! How can Agni accept him now that he dies a traitor? His soul will just burn like the rest of him, and it will be nothing but ash. Oh Spirits, oh Spirits, _I cannot deal with this_.

It is all right, everything is fine, it is just the smoke distorting your mind. You are dreaming, dreaming, dreaming…

Such a wail of pure anguish and lamentation echoed through the night, sending chills up the platypus-bear's back and making the fur of the vulture-lion stand on edge. The sound reverberated through the treetops and to the villages and towns for miles and miles, and made the people who heard it stop in their tracks, shiver in fright.

Oh Spirits, oh Spirits, oh Spirits, Agni is not a merciful god.


	86. Rising

A/N: I've been home for a while but I never updated any of my fics. I'm sorry, guys. I'm really overdue for another drabble.

Title: Rising  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 241  
Warnings: Aangst, Mentions of death  
Characters/Pairings: Aang  
Challenge: None

XXX

He sees the beginning: the fear of abandonment, the foolhardy decision, the terrible storm, the sinking bison, the glowing eyes, the water chilling around them—and, a hundred years later, the warm body holding his, the inquisitive eyes, the discovery: _A war? What war? There definitely was no war… How long have I been away from the Temple?_

He sees the journey: the capture, the rescue, the determination to master abilities, the strange feelings, the comet, the previous Avatar, the betrayals, the new friends, the siege, the teachers, the blind eyes, the long flights, the hell they descended into; and as he watched the sunset over the blazing rooftops: _This is the capital? This is where it all ends? How fitting that it be so red._

He sees the battle: the rush, the infantry, the anger, the fire, the vengeance, the last stand, the death, the Spirit's rising that only leads to more death: _What have I done…?_

And as he sits amidst the carnage, he sees the end: the dead, the dying, the failed rebuilding, the famine, the pleas for his help, the feeling of helplessness, the knowledge that he cannot help them, the anger that the Spirit ignites within him, the anger that the Spirit unleashes, the anger of the Spirit that ends it all: _That's going to happen? I can't let that happen. I won't let that happen. I…_

But it's already too late: _…What have I done?_


	87. Protection

A/N: I was kinda listening to the Snow Patrol song Chasing Cars and got inspired to write a drabble. This drabble is far from what I had originally intended as the outcome, but I like it anyway.

Title: Protection  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 301  
Warnings: Zuko angst, Aang nostalgia  
Challenge: None  
Characters/Pairings: Zuko, some Aang

* * *

"You're just a child."

Four words that rang true to the depths of the Avatar's soul, and still yet completely and utterly _wrong_—and he knew it, too, after just seeing the look in the child's eyes. But his regular self returned, and he underestimated the child without a second thought.

"Do you think we could've been friends…?"

The sound of silence hung thick in the air, so thick he thought he could choke and cry and plead for redemption all at once. And then his mind came back to him, and he began to think properly, responding with a jet of flame. Easily avoided flame, but flame nonetheless.

"We can't leave him. He'll _die_ if we leave him."

He wasn't thinking. All he knew was that his body hurt and he could barely comprehend what was happening; all he knew was that the Avatar was just a force that was lifting up his battered soul… His reason came again, and he was fleeing the Avatar and chasing after Zhao to extract revenge, as if that was all he lived for.

"Zuko, I can help."

The absolute, genuine emotion swirling around within the pairs of eyes, all spectators of some monstrous game gone out of control, startled him, frightened him. To know that much sympathy and care…

But his thoughts pounded his heart with their savage battle cries, their labels of "Avatar!" and "Enemy!" And he told himself that life he had so vainly hoped for was just a lie, a drop of water drowning in a dark, never-ending ocean.

And so, naturally, thus sprung from his palm the fire, a wild shot that did no harm to his merciful spectators; thus, his natural impulse to trust in the fire, as if it would protect him, though it never really did.


	88. Light

Title: Light  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 273  
Warnings: MEGA HUGE SPOILER WARNING FOR CITY OF WALLS AND SECRETS! And creepiness, too.  
Challenge: Written in response to the new episode  
Characters/Pairings: Aang

* * *

_"We do not speak of the war in Ba Sing Se."_

The words even still silenced him, shocked him. The explanation of Long Feng's utopian city… It made no sense. It was utter madness.

It had to be stopped.

Aang clenched his fist tightly, a new determination settling within him. He would change the city. He would tell the people. He would set the people free. He had to resist. To fight for the people.

"_There is no war, Avatar Aang, and that is why it is not spoken of."_

He squeezed his eyes shut. He had to fight. He had to avenge all those people whose minds Long Feng had twisted with. That Long Feng had betrayed. Those people were relying on Aang, though they knew it not.

"_Please, relax, Avatar. You are safe now."_

The droning voice created a throbbing pulse in his head, repeating a mantra that wasn't his own, that shouldn't be repeated: _You are safe. You are safe. You are safe._

His own willpower didn't falter either, though: _I have to fight. I have to resist!_

He blinked and the lights spun in his vision, his eyes cloudy, his vision blurred, and still he called to himself: _I have to fight. I must resist!_

_"Avatar Aang, do not be afraid, for there is nothing to be afraid of. There is no war. You are perfectly safe."_

His eyes grew distant, dark, not themselves. He was trying so hard to resist, and he was so afraid, but it was too much. Too much, too much!

_"You are safe."_

He looked into the light and was lost to the world.


	89. Immortal

A/N: I have 12 (now 11, actually) drabbles to post before I reach 100. And, since the anniversary of the posting of this collection is nearing, I figure that I'll do the next 11 drabbles as a sort of countdown to 100. And the 100th shall be posted on the 14th. Woot!

Title: Immortal; Drabble the 89th  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 195  
Warnings: Dark, Bad Writing, Weird  
Challenge: None  
Characters: Avatar Spirit

* * *

The Spirit's voice is like acid rain, its eyes like the light of heaven, its soul like ash. The Spirit is twisted and dark, overcome with power, the ability and affinity to abuse its power; for its strength has grown and grown through the reincarnations. Each Avatar has the might of all the previous Avatars. The Spirit can only grow stronger yet.

The absolute force of the Spirit with twisted logic is incomprehensible to the people; they are scared, afraid as never before. Something must be done, they whisper amongst themselves, for our Protector and Savior is now our greatest enemy.

They plot to kill him.

They are foolish, for they do not know the Spirit will manifest itself once again in one of their people, condemning the person to a life of hatred and insanity. There is no redemption for the world; there is no redemption for the Spirit. There can only be apocalypse; there can only be death for the people; there can only be lost hope for the Avatars to come.

All that can be is a horrible, torturous immortality for a lone soul who will play dictator over an empty world.


	90. Child

A/N: I've been writing some really angsty stuff as of late and I dunno why...Here's yet another Angsty Piece of Crap. I hope you enjoy it despite its atrociousness. :)

10 more drabbles 'til 100!

Title: Child  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 301  
Warnings: Character Death, Angst, Psychotic Azula, Weird writing, Run-on Sentences of DOOM, Sentence Fragments of APOCALYPTIC ATROCIOUSNESS  
Challenge: None  
Characters: Various

* * *

In the end, it wasn't the Avatar who saved the world. 

There's so much to it:

The prince so lost, insane with grief, his mind distorted by hatred and anger and blinding rage so intense and so unnatural for him. The life of the General, also lost, due to a sly, insidious attack from the rear that was never suspected. The dead Fire Lord, incinerated by the comet that would give him ultimate power. A psychotic princess with nothing but a perverted desire to kill, slowly and torturously. An Avatar with no motivation to live, for he had murdered so many.

A child amid the carnage with nothing but an exotic name, without parents, without a sister, without food or shelter or love or care. And the world that surrounded her, a bloody battle that would not stop, not even if the Fire Lord was dead: there were still people alive, and that meant there were people to be killed.

The Avatar who found the child alone in the debris, crying and screaming for her mother or some familiar touch. He made his loved one swear: _Save the child. Someone must live, Katara._

The Waterbender who took the child and pleaded: _Do not leave me! Do not leave me!_ And her unheard words disregarded by the Avatar who kept walking towards the edge. The prince corrupted by the death of his uncle, who sought revenge now so desperately, who stumbled across the Waterbender and child and stopped, remembering days long past: his tears so salty and bittersweet, his eyes unclouded by the tears he wept. The remembrance:_ The Avatar gives Zuko Hope_. The Princess who, at the last second, killed them all.

_The Avatar gives people Hope_: Hope, the child; Hope, the savior; Hope, the only survivor of a long-forgotten war.


	91. Chapters

Title: Chapters  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 118  
Warnings: Sadness  
Characters: Iroh

* * *

He holds his hand to the old scroll with the depiction of the blessed face so long gone. It is nearing twilight, and he is on a high hill where he might see the grand entirety of Ba Sing Se, the impenetrable city. The mood is perfect—the end of one chapter and the beginning of another, new and fresh chapter in the novel of his life.

As he carries out the last note of his sorrowful song through choked tears, he knows that Lu Ten is really gone.

Even in the endings of stories, some things are always meant to be remembered. Iroh knows this as much as he knows that he will never forget Lu Ten.


	92. Sweet

Title: Sweet  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 63  
Warnings: Slight Shippiness  
Characters: Zuko, Jin

* * *

Jin is sweet and confident and kind and happy-go-lucky and all the things he is not. Her eyes beg him for acceptance from the one her heart melts for; and it is all he can do not to light the area. Fool that he is, he uses his Firebending.

And yet, just to see the look on Jin's face, it is worth it.


	93. Formidable

A/N: ZOMG dood, seven more left!

* * *

Title: Formidable  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 82  
Warnings: None  
Characters: Iroh

* * *

The walls of Ba Sing Se are formidable things, reaching to the clouds so that an outsider cannot see over them. Thick as a tree is tall and solid as the Earthbenders who built them, as is said. The walls have stood the test of time and are a great warning to foes: _Don't even try, fools. We shall not be broken._

Iroh sees them, his young amber eyes evident of his deep thought, and he knows that he will not fail.


	94. Fate of the World

Title: Fate of the World  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 163  
Warnings: Weirdness  
Characters: Sokka; some Katara and Toph

* * *

Destiny, he believes, is determined not by the Spirits, and that everything is just a coincidence. Events are not already mapped out; there are no connections between one situation from the next. It's just a bunch of random, jumbled emotions and points of view and perceptions. That's all life really is.

So he is naturally fascinated when Katara brings up a strange topic. What would have happened, she muses, if we hadn't found Aang?

Well, Katara would still have a devastating temper, probably, nothing like her now mellow self.

And you would still be a sexist bigot, Katara adds indignantly.

And a huge slob, Toph chimes.

Resisting from slapping himself in the forehead (it's already red enough), he says wittily, Don't be ridiculous! It doesn't matter, because nothing is connected.

Yet still, he chuckles secretly to himself, for he's so wrong. It's funny how such a seemingly insignificant thing such as a pair of smelly socks can determine the fate of the world.


	95. Sisters

Title: Sisters  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 262  
Warnings: Just know that this drabble takes place during and after The Chase (episode 2x08).  
Characters: Katara, Toph

* * *

Katara has tried and tried to be sisterly with Toph, but really, the Earthbender is so rude and annoying! How can anyone blame Katara? She's tried to be nice and she gets nothing but contempt and taunts.

The Waterbender knows that, in her heart, even if she dislikes Toph, she still loves the girl like she loves Sokka and Aang. Toph is a sister to her, another person to join her strange little family.

She wants Toph to know this, but she doesn't know how to say it. Toph doesn't want and doesn't need acknowledgement or pity; she just wants to travel and fight to the best of her ability.

So when Toph goes off to leave them, it's a shock and a desperate plea for her not to go. She does anyway.

And when they face off with the psychotic Fire Princess, she returns to them.

It is the morning after the battle (late morning, for it has been such a long night without sleep), and Katara is awake and staring at the sky overhead and the awoken Toph next to her.

Katara sits with Toph on Appa's head. The Waterbender tells Toph softly, "You came back. Thank you."

Toph laughs. "You three would be nothing without me."

"Yeah." Katara drifts off. "I'm sorry I was so mean earlier." She stops again. Toph doesn't move her head. "I really admire you, you know."

Toph groans. "Oh, don't get all sentimental and weird on me, Katara!"

But Katara can see right through those words, for she can also clearly see Toph's smile.


	96. Unspoken

Title: Unspoken  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 177  
Warnings: Minor language (one word), Crack!canon!pairings  
Characters: Smellerbee, Longshot  
Pairings: Some mutual Smellershot and implied Jetterbee

* * *

She feels awful, betraying her beloved idol and savior, leaving him for dead at the hands of the ravenous wolves who bind his arms with rock and toss him carelessly into a stone-cold cage. It is what has to be done right now, her companion's eyes tell her, but she still can't deal with the fact: the one she has so faithfully followed has been lost to the demons and the depths of hell.

It's been like that all along. He's always been condemned, the eyes tell her. Do not worry about it.

She shakes her head, nearly shouts, I cannot leave him like that! It's not the right thing to do; and we came here to get a fresh start, didn't we?

The eyes once again pierce her own. I told you not to worry, they advise her, for don't you know that he's going to escape soon?

What, she wonders, How could you know…?

I told you not to worry about it, the eyes tell her yet again, for I would never abandon a friend.


	97. In Between

A/N: I wanted to do a comparison between Angry!Spazzoid!Season-One!Zuko and Mellow!Much-character-develop!Season-Two!Zuko. Heheh.

Title: In Between  
Author: Red Hawk K'sani  
Word Count: 96  
Warnings: None  
Characters: Zuko

* * *

He has much honor, though he thinks he has lost it. Loyal to his country, he longs to return to his beloved homeland, and yet he has severed himself from his family and forever abandoned any chance of being welcomed back. Proud and vigilant, he is yet very weakened and mellow, worn down by time and events he didn't think would ever occur. Wishing for his old life, he knows that his best future is something far from that.

He is not a hero, and he is not a villain. He is just somewhere in between.


	98. Guru

A/N: This drabble is really kinda weird. Didn't turn out the way I wanted it to. But, I digress; it's not that bad. Just don't ask me where Sokka, Katara, and Toph are. They fell into a plothole or something.

Title: Guru  
Word Count: 104  
Warnings: Spoilers for ALD  
Characters: Aang, Guru Patik

* * *

He is anxious, eager to see this mysterious Guru Patik who brought Appa back to him, who knows his first name, who is shrouded in wonder. Aang can only imagine what powers, what wisdom the man might have, maybe even more knowledge than that contained in Wan Shi Tong's library.

As Appa lands in the desolate ruins of the Eastern Air Temple, Aang looks around curiously. He sees an old man in meditation, adorned in orange and yellow robes. The man turns around, stares at him with the gray eyes of an Air Nomad.

And it is then Aang realizes: He isn't alone anymore.


	99. Merciful

WARNING: If you have not seen episode 2x17, Lake Laogai, yet, then refrain from reading this drabble unless you want to be spoiled. Because this drabble has mega-spoilers and you really should turn back now if you haven't seen the episode on turbonick.

* * *

A/N: So, my 99th drabble here. I haven't updated in forever because I've been really busy. I hope some people are still reading this thing…

Title: Merciful  
Word Count: 76  
Warnings: Character Death, Angst, SPOILERS FOR LAKE LOAGAI (EP 17)  
Characters: Jet; Longshot and Smellerbee

* * *

His heart beats steadily: _thud-thud, thud-thud_. His breaths are short gasps of air; all he can feel is blinding pain in his torso, and even worse pain in his heart. What has his meager life made for the world? What has he accomplished? Will he be remembered?

He isn't ready to die.

At least he isn't alone. As the merciful archer draws back the arrow, he knows that, in the next life, there will be paradise.


	100. One Hundred Years and Two Wars

A/N: Finally, just under a year and a month old, this finally comes to a close at 100. I'm finishing this drabble collection off, at least for now, so I can focus on Rain and a new AU fic I have started. Enjoy, and thanks to all the readers and reviewers who stuck it out to 100.

Title: One Hundred Years, Two Wars  
Word Count: 182  
Warnings: Weird, Brainwashing, Torture, Warfare, Ba Sing Se stuffs  
Characters: Just the Avatar world in general  
Challenge: Based off a 100-theme, as per request

* * *

For a hundred years, a vicious war raged. Chaos reigned supreme on the west coast of the Earth Kingdom; the Fire Nation terrorized and took hold of small villages and towns, claiming more and more of the land. People died by the thousands. Mothers and daughters and wives waved goodbye to the men, never to see them return.

Inside Ba Sing Se, all was peaceful. It appeared so on the surface; but underneath the lies and the masked faces was a horrible, heinous truth, another kind of vicious war that raged inside the minds of thousands. People went missing during the night and didn't show up until a week later. Wives bid farewell to their husbands going off to work, sometimes never seeing them again. The Dai Li lurked in every corner and nook and shadow, taking control of the city from the inside.

A system that had lasted for a hundred years was not one to be taken down. So, it was only the natural thing to do, to invite the Avatar to Lake Laogai on behalf of the Earth King.


End file.
